


March of Progress

by Writerleft



Series: Comes Marching Home [14]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst when appropriate, Consequences, F/F, F/M, Fluff when practical, Happy Ending, Korrasami - Freeform, M/M, Plot Driven, Politics, Post Book 4, Post Finale, Post Season 4, So many consequences, Very happy ending, pre-Turf Wars canon continuation, romance centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-10 16:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 236,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6996448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/pseuds/Writerleft
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avatar must protect nature, foster peace, and keep the world safe.<br/>The CEO of Future Industries must expand, innovate, and, at the end of the day, turn a profit. </p><p>Korra and Asami have fallen in love, and fallen hard. But when their duties come between them, their world convulses around them, and their pasts still haunt them both, can the world's most powerful couple survive? </p><p>(Lots of Fluff, Lots of Character Analysis and Development, Copious Angst later on. Very wide-ranging but Korrasami focused. Reading previous works in series not necessary.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wrinkles

_(The incomparable Ansdrela (formerly Drakyx) gave me permission to use this wonderful piece here; we both decided to recreate the scene in the initial comic announcement, so this very literally sets the stage for me! With boundless thanks to Ansdrela herself--check out[her tumblr](http://ansdrela.tumblr.com/) if you'd like to see more of her great work!) _

 

Korra and Asami stepped out of the Spirit World, eyes only for each other as they returned to the ruined city they called home. The weight of Asami's hand on Korra's shoulder made her stomach flip, and her own hand on Asami's waist pulled the other woman closer.

Suffice it to say, it had been a good few weeks.

Asami chucked softly, at nothing at all. Korra smiled back, understanding the feeling.

“So...” Korra began.

“So?”

“So, we're back,” Korra continued, nuzzling her head into Asami's ear.

“Unfortunately,” Asami muttered, and Korra's grin grew.

“What now?”

“Besides a shower?” Asami snickered, glancing around. “I'm pretty sure the city could use rebuilding, for one.”

“No,” Korra said, turning to take both of Asami's hands in hers, just as she had as they'd entered the Spirit World. “I mean, what about... us? ARE we an 'us'?”

Asami leaned down, pecking Korra on the lips. “Of _course_ we're an 'us', Korra. But we've also been gone for two weeks, and... look over there. Up that street.”

Korra turned her head, noticing the ruins around them for the first time. She followed Asami's gaze. “What... heh, not sure what I should be looking for.”

“That's where Future Industries headquarters _used_ to be. The top half was blasted right off when that spirit cannon was spiraling out of control. All our records, blueprints, contracts... the building was insured, but it's going to take a ton of work to put my company back together.”

Korra's eyes widened. “Asami, I didn't think about... and I took two weeks away from—”

“Don't—” Asami interrupted the same way she fought—a precision, disarming jab. “Don't you _ever_ even _try_ to apologize for spending time with me.”

Korra looked down, face flushed. How could Asami make her feel so bad, but so good about it? “Okay. But it sounds like we won't get a chance to for a while?”

Asami nodded, sadly. “I'll keep in touch, believe me. But it's going to be hectic.”

Korra sighed into Asami's shoulder. “Alright. So...”

“This again?”

“How do we tell everyone about us?”

Asami took a moment to respond. Korra wished she could see her girlfriend's expression as she thought.

Girlfriend! She hadn't dared let herself think the word yet. As if contemplating it would screw up her chances.

“I... think we should be careful about it,” Asami said.

Korra's besotted grin vanished. “Careful?”

“Us being together, it might not exactly be... easy, you know?”

“After the last few years, I'm not sure I would know how to handle 'easy'. C'mon, Asami, why so worried all of a sudden?”

“You know, not everyone will be completely understanding.” She stepped away, crossing her arms. “It'll take some adjustment, to say the least. And there may be some people out there who are downright against it.”

“Against... what?” Korra frowned. Nobody caused any problems when she'd dated Mako. “Because you're rich and upper-crusty? Because technically, I might be considered a princess.”

Asami chuckled, her expression softening. “Oh, Korra. Sometimes, you're still so... Just trust me on this for a while, okay?” She reached out to squeeze Korra's shoulder. “This has been too wonderful to cap off with _that_ conversation. As for our friends, I'd prefer we tell them we're together when we're, you know, _together_.”

Korra nodded emphatically. “Agreed. So the press can't know until all our friends and family do.”

Asami hesitated for a split second, and Korra winced for her sake. Why did she have to say 'family'? Hiroshi was killed less than a month ago, and Asami's feelings for him were still so complicated and raw. Not every moment in the Spirit World had been happy—but Korra was thankful for the chance to have been the supportive one, for once.

Asami gave no outward sign she was bothered, her attention elsewhere. “Looks like we have company.”

A uniformed police officer was making his way toward them, across the crater, having descended some hastily-built wooden scaffolding. Korra squinted – was that a fence along the crater's edge? A few watch towers, too, now that she was noticing things besides Asami.

“I wonder what time it is?” the Asami, adjusting her backpack. “It was hard to keep track of time, on the other side.”

Korra chuckled. The sun hadn't set while they'd been there. Asami had assumed that was normal for the Spirit World; Korra thought maybe it had something to do with her mood. Either way, the corporeal world wasn't as welcoming.

“Avatar. Ms. Sato.” The officer gave them each a nod as he stopped in front of them. He gave a salute almost—almost—as ridiculous as Mako's. “Welcome back.”

“What's with the fences?” Korra asked. “Is someone trying to keep people out of the Spirit World?”

“I, uh... my orders say—”

“I doubt he's the one who built it, Korra,” Asami said, coming to the cop's rescue. “Besides, the crater _is_ pretty steep.”

“Right, sure,” Korra shrugged. “You said you had orders?”

He nodded, glancing between the two women. “Chief Beifong wanted to see you both as soon as you got back.”

Korra chuckled, glancing at Asami. “Figures we wouldn't get a moment's peace.”

“Honestly,” Asami smirked, “I'd expected it would be Raiko.”

“Ooh, good point. Which do you think was more mad we ran off?”

“Tough call.”

The officer cleared his throat. “If you wouldn't mind? My patrol car is nearby.”

Scaling the edge of the crater was far easier than it had been the last time, when they'd both been battered and bruised from Kuvira's attack. Still, the stairs were appreciated.

The night was chill, a slight breeze off the bay stirring through paper and other debris. The moon was low on the horizon, casting the mostly-dark city in silver shadow. Somewhere, deep within the abandoned streets, a lone dog bayed at the night.

“It's... eerie,” Asami said as they neared street level. “The city is _never_ this quiet. Not even after Tarrlok declared martial law, or the Equalists took over. There's always somebody on the road, conversations murmuring out of windows. Something.”

Korra put an arm around her shoulder. “It'll come back. Gotta make sure the city is safe first, right?” She grinned, and Asami nodded.

Still, the feeling got to Korra too during their short, traffic-free drive to the central precinct. Most of the debris was cleared, and construction equipment was parked everywhere, dormant for the night. Neither of them said another word.

Before long, Asami and Korra found themselves before one standard-issue Lin Beifong. Prim and sneering, dominating her precinct in spite of the late hour.

“I should've expected you two would come back in the middle of the night. You have no respect for the way people do things.”

“Good to see you too, Lin,” Korra smirked, collapsing into a chair. “Should've expected _you_ to still be terrorizing the office. You didn't take after Mako, did you? Put a cot under your desk?”

Asami looked at her, never quite sure how to act when Korra and Lin went at it. Korra motioned her to sit, and she shrugged and did so gratefully. They HAD just spent several weeks on their feet.

“Any reason you brought us in so fast?” Korra asked.

“And why is the city still so empty?” Asami added. “Hasn't anyone come back yet?”

Lin sat with a grunt, her hand striking out to grab a particular note off her desk. “Kuvira's attack annihilated sixteen city blocks, and rendered another fifty uninhabitable. Not even considering all the businesses and government buildings involved, sixty thousand people have no homes to come back to.”

Korra gasped; Asami merely winced. Maybe the Chief really WAS sleeping in her office. “What about food?” the engineer asked.

Lin met Asami's gaze, gave her a slight nod. “With the rail lines cut and most of the roads destroyed, it's easier to keep the people fed out in the evacuation camps than it would be here. Much of Kuvira's army has been working to at least clean up the debris, but, well... there's a lot of it.” Lin shrugged, surprisingly non-accusatory at the end.

The Avatar let out a breath. “How are things in the camps, then? Are we talking riots, or...”

“Calm actually.” Lin sounded almost as surprised as Korra felt. “I guess this city has been through so much the last few years, that we're pretty resilient.”

Korra glanced at Asami, and caught Asami glancing at her. Both of them quickly turned away.

Lin looked back and forth between them, then rolled her eyes. “The president wants to meet with both of you in the morning, soon as you can. People are trying to filter back into the city, but we're not ready for them yet. We'll need your help to keep them calm and get the city put back together.”

“Of course,” Asami said.

“I can get an airship to take you to your estate,” Lin offered her. “Unless you'd like to go to Air Temple Island?” She glanced at Korra, an eyebrow raised.

Asami and Korra looked at each other, silently debating. Finally, Korra shrugged. “I guess the jig is up.”

“Well, she _is_ the Chief of Police.” Asami agreed, turning. “Lin—”

Lin put her hands up in front of her, like she was stopping traffic. “I'm no gossip-monger. But if you don't want to wind up on the scandal rags, maybe stop looking at each other so much.”

Korra snorted in reply. Not gonna happen.

Lin shrugged. “I'm just saying, the last thing the city needs right now is to think the Avatar and the woman best suited to rebuild it are too... _distracted_ to put the city back together. Me, I don't care, do what you want. But you know how newsies are.”

Korra sighed. “Fine. We'll figure something out. But we rebuild the newspaper buildings last.”  
 

 

***

 

Tenzin rose an hour before the sun, sliding from beneath Pema's arm, attempting, as he always did, not to wake her. As a former Air Acolyte, she was also trained to rise early for meditation, but seeing her peaceful face mushed into their pillow, he could never bring himself to wake her, especially now that Rohan was finally sleeping through the night more often than not.

His heart already warm, he calmed his mind. Washing his face and shaving his scalp, each movement calm and measured after decades of repetition, was practically meditation in and of itself. He almost wondered if he truly needed the mirror and the buzzing yellow lights overhead, or if his hands would know what to do without them.

He wouldn't have to see those creases around his eyes, the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth. They had been there for... he had no idea how long now. But had they always been so deep?

The airbender sighed. Every one of those wrinkles had been earned, through care and intent. They were signs of wisdom and experience. He just hadn't realized how wise and experienced he had become.

After dressing in one of his immaculate and identical sets of robes, Tenzin snuck through the bedroom and headed toward the pavilion overlooking the bay.

“Master Tenzin!” a voice called as soon as he entered the hallway.

“Yes?” He paused, waiting for the caller to catch up. The overnight radio attendant? Tenzin usually checked in after his morning meditation and breakfast; for her to seek him out, something important must have happened. “Has something gone wrong in the Earth territories?”

The attendant shook her head. “Message from the Fire Nation, sir. She told me she needs to talk to you as soon as possible.”

“She?”

“Fire Lord Izumi.”

Tenzin could already feel more wisdom lines starting to form. “Very well. Knowing Izumi, she's still awake; I'll get on the radio at once.”

He sighed as he followed the radio operator back into the temple. The horizon hinted at the first glimmers of dawn above the barely-lit city, suggesting a gorgeous morning to come.

Tenzin followed the woman into the temple interior, speculating about the ongoing problems in the city and how whatever the Fire Lord needed could complicate things. The Air Nation had been spread thin for months, through Kuvira's war and its aftermath. There simply weren't enough sufficiently-trained Airbenders to send. Perhaps the other world leaders could be convinced to parole more of Kuvira's army for peacekeeping?

“Hi, Tenzin,” Korra said, munching on noodles as they walked through the dining room.

“Good morning, Korra.” After all, they couldn't keep an entire army under guard, especially when most of them had been forced—

Tenzin stopped three steps into the hallway, then backed up. Korra was, in fact, sitting at his table, a grin splitting her face. “You're back.”

Korra pressed her fists together, bowing respectfully. “Perhaps, one day, I too will have the honed observational powers of an airbending master.”

“You're back,” he repeated sourly. “So long as you're here, perhaps you should join me in the radio room? There's some sort of emergency in the Fire Nation.”

The Avatar's face became serious. She pushed her bowl aside and stood.

Inwardly, Tenzin smiled, thinking of their conversation at the wedding. She'd grown from a headstrong, self-involved teen into a very mature and capable Avatar. What's more, for the first time in years, she looked truly at peace with herself. Some of that brightness that Zaheer had beaten out of her shimmered behind her eyes. Poorly timed or not, the vacation had done her well.

“So, do early mornings _usually_ start with an international crisis? I told you mornings were evil.”

Buuuut she was still Korra.

When they reached the radio room, the operator was already attempting to establish contact with the Fire Nation capital. The distance was substantial, but some clever Fire Nation inventors had built booster stations on small islands between their archipelago and the United Republic. Republic City liked to tout itself as the most modern and advanced civilization in history, but industry and innovation were part of the Fire Nation's lifeblood.

“This is Fire Lord Izumi,” the radio finally replied. “Tenzin is finally awake?”

Tenzin rolled his eyes, taking the microphone. “I'm here, Izumi. It's not even dawn yet. It's still the middle of the night there.”

“I've a busy schedule and you're an early riser.” Two things Tenzin couldn't argue. One didn't win arguments against Izumi, though it was sometimes difficult to avoid them. Neither of her parents had the best interpersonal skills, after all. “Let's get to business: the Fire Nation requires spiritual assistance.”

He and Korra shared a glance. “How can we help?”

 

 ***

 

Asami awoke from her familiar nightmare with a start. It figured, the first time she fell asleep without Korra nearby, the nightmare would return. It almost would have felt wrong if it hadn’t. After all, that same recurring horror had haunted her dreams for years. She shook it from her mind with practiced distaste.

She hadn't meant to fall asleep in the tub, but other than a crick in her neck and some very pruned fingers, she was no worse for wear. And as much as she'd loved every second she'd spent with Korra on the Spirit World, she'd deeply, deeply missed soap.

She checked the clock, frowning at how late it was. Still, she toweled off her hair, moisturized her skin, brushed both hair and teeth, and applied her makeup just _so_. Once she got back in contact with her people and found out what needed doing, she wanted to be ready to leave the mansion at once.

And not just because it's cavernous halls, empty now of both Mako and Bolin's family and her own staff, were achingly lonesome. Especially after having Korra be _there_ every time she turned for the last—no. She had to focus. There was just too much work to be done to take a day to herself. Hopefully, if she got a good enough start at it, she could meet up with Korra for lunch.

Once she was finally satisfied with her hair, Asami went to her telephone. The number she wanted was circled on a pad beside it—she'd had her headquarters' number memorized, but that was lost when the building blew up.

“Future Industries,” answered a bright voice.

Asami frowned. “Zhu Li? What are _you_ doing there?”

“Oh, primarily 'the thing.'”

Asami pressed her lips thin. “I meant, why are you answering _my_ company's phone and not on _your_ honeymoon?”

The other engineer chuckled. “Can you imagine Varrick with nothing to tinker with? Neither of us would've enjoyed a trip away, especially since we both feel guilty for helping Kuvira build her army in the first place. Besides, I hear another couple took a romantic trip in our stead. Isn't that right, Ms. Sato?”

She felt her face go flush. Thank goodness she was at home! “You didn't answer my first question. Why are you answering for Future Industries?”

“You mean, the company my husband owns a controlling share of?”

Her eyes narrowed, embarrassment forgotten. “Future Industries is mine. Varrick's shares—”

“Varrick's control of the company was invalidated by his incarceration, but the ownership of those shares never changed. And now that he's been pardoned—”

“Zhu Li, if you think I'm going to—”

“ _Relax,_ Miss Sato. Asami. I'm not going to let him steal your company. We'll work out a deal, swap some shares or something. But point was, everything was in disarray, and you, well, vanished. Somebody had to keep things together. Besides, you did a good job running Varrick's holdings while he was out of the city. We're returning the favor.”

Asami grimaced. She'd left instructions for while she was gone, but with the board still separated by the evacuation, that would've created a power vacuum. “I'll have my lawyer look into it. But I'm back now. What's the situation?”

“I believe 'bad' would sum it up. I've managed to bring some of your upper-management types to salvage what they can, but they're mostly working out of regard at this point. You're broke.”

Asami blinked. “What do you mean, 'broke'? We had millions in the bank, and the tower was insured.”

“The bank blew up. The insurance company's building, too.”

“...oh.” Asami's knees wobbled, taking her to the floor. She managed to sit up. “I... we have other holdings. Factories in the Fire Nation, Varrick's old shipping lines...”

“Which will be of great help once the port re-opens. All the metalbenders we can spare are working on reconstructing the city, not fishing the sunken fleet out of the bay.”

She ground her teeth. “I'm sure waterbenders could do the trick.”

“If they weren't busy keeping the water supply and sewage running, yes.”

This couldn't be happening. After she'd rebuilt from the damage her father's Equalist connections had done, after finally putting Future Industries back on top, it couldn't just be _gone_. “What are you trying to tell me, Zhu Li?”

The other woman sighed over the phone. “It's not all bleak. You have the goodwill of the city, and presumably the ear of the Avatar. I'm sure you should be able to get some lines of credit. And a few shipments from the Fire Nation factories are waiting out in the bay. I'm not sure what's on them, but maybe something you could sell for some quick funds to keep going?”

Asami knew just the ships she meant. “Maybe they aren't too late to do some good after all.”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, those ships are full of weapons from our factories in the Fire Nation. I ordered them to help fight Kuvira, but then she got here a week early... There aren't any more armies on the way, I hope, but Republic forces might still buy them. There's no way we can offload the ships?”

“Until the port is cleaned up, nothing larger than a speedboat can dock.”

Good enough. “I'll take a speedboat out and get a few crates. Can you set up a meeting this afternoon? Raiko, Iroh, maybe Lin?”

“Of course. Would you like me and Varrick there, too?”

“Have you figured out a way to make him stay still and keep quiet yet?”

“We'll... talk to you after the meeting,” Zhu Li sighed. “Or whenever I manage to catch up with him.”

“He's not there?”

 

 ***

 

Bolin had a few... a lot... okay a whole impossibly long list of regrets from helping Kuvira's rise to power. Tons of warning signs he kicked himself for ignoring, plus a few actual, you know, warnings...

Point was, it was a bad time and he felt bad about it. But it had been easier to feel good about it when he had been helping people who needed it. Offering them protection, and medicine, and food. The looks on people's faces when they thought, for the first time in ages, that their children would be safe made his whole heart grin.

Admittedly a strange image. But it was grinning now, too, as he helped hand out food to the evacuees. Even if he felt a little ridiculous doing it dressed as

“Nuktuk!” another kid grinned, bouncing from foot to foot as her family reached the front of the line. “Look, Seta, it's Nuktuk!”

Bolin smiled back, handing over a bundle of food. Varrick elbowed him in the ribs. “See, kid? I told you this would be great PR!”

“I didn't want PR, I wanted to help,” Bolin said from the side of his mouth.

“You ARE helping. See how happy you're making people?! And once the movers of this show at the other camps, it'll be like you fed everybody!”

“Yes, sure. Except people can't... eat... movers.”

“Of course they can't eat... UNLESS—”

“No, Varrick. I think I can already see where you're going and it's—”

“Don't talk to me!” Varrick shook his arms toward the line of evacuees. “The fans, Nuktuk!”

The girl passed the food over his head to her parents, grabbing Bolin's arm instead. “Are you gonna help us get back home, Nuktuk? Save the day like you did in the South?”

“You bet! Only... there's no more bad guys to beat up, so really it's more helping keep you fed while we rebuild the city.”

“Sure,” the girl's father muttered. “No bad guys. C'mon, Sen. The next family needs dinner too.”

“Bye!” Bolin waved, frowning. What did that mean? Kuvira's army had surrendered, and the Air Nation was keeping the peace so, who was left? Maybe Opal would—”

“Nuktuk!” cried eight kids at once as they charged him.

“Eep!”

 

***

 

Korra and Tenzin strode together from the radio room, each ruminating on what Fire Lord Izumi had said. Dark spirits striking from the Fire Nation wilds, attacking cities and factories and roads. The Fire Nation had never been a spiritual place—not since well before the Hundred Year War, at least—and spiritual activity had remained low, even after Harmonic Convergence. Why were the spirits restive now?

“How soon do we leave?” Korra asked.

Tenzin frowned, but kept walking. “I'm not certain you should come, Korra. Things are still so delicate here, and you just returned. The United Republic needs you.”

“So does the Fire Nation! Do you know anybody else who can spirit-bend?”

“Yes, actually. There are a number of Northern waterbenders I have been corresponding with for the last few years. I will send a message to your cousins, requesting their aid.”

Korra frowned, not-quite-pouting over being outmaneuvered. “Well I bet none of them ever bent the spirit of elemental chaos and destruction before. While giant.”

Tenzin smirked. “I did not specifically ask, but most likely not.”

“It's just... I'm supposed to handle this sort of thing, right? I've been away so long, I _barely_ got back in time to stop Kuvira. What else did I let fester while I was out finding myself?”

The airbender stopped, hands moving to her shoulders. “I know how impatient you were to leave the South Pole, how quickly you wanted to recover. But the Air Nation has become somewhat proficient at solving these little problems. You can't be everywhere, Korra, and you're still needed here. Let us handle this for you.”

“But if I wasn't gone—”

Tenzin tilted his head, a stern look in his eye. For once, Korra stopped.

“Just... make sure you radio if you need anything. I'll come right away.”

“Of course.”

Tenzin turned to resume walking, but Korra stayed still. “Um.”

“Yes?”

Korra twisted her foot against the floor, looking down, biting her lip. “I've got something to tell you, but I was hoping to tell everyone at once but with so much going on, we might not all be in one place again for a while, but still I'm supposed to wait until Asami is here too and heck maybe that gave it away but... when are you leaving then?”

“I was thinking this afternoon.”

“Okay, save two seats at lunch then!” Korra said rushing down the hall.

Tenzin stroked his beard as she scampered off. What could _that_ be about?

 

***

 

Korra waited patiently outside Raiko’s office. They hadn’t always gotten along—actually, had they ever?—but Korra wanted to start the meeting on a helpful tone. Particularly after flying over the city in the daylight.

Construction crews were everywhere, but there was still so much to do. Most of the major roads were clear, but entire blocks had been leveled. A restaurant Mako had taken her to, an Equalist hideout she’d raided, the Southern Water Tribe cultural center (again)… all damaged or destroyed. So much of her own history was in tatters.

Her back straightened. She’d come back. The city would too.

“Avatar Korra?” Raiko’s secretary said. “The President will see you now.”

She nodded quietly, and stepped through the door.

“Avatar,” Raiko greeted coolly, not rising from his desk. “I trust the emergency you had to take care of in the Spirit World has been resolved?”

Korra blinked. “Emergency?”

“Yes,” Raiko said, sorting through papers. “The one we’ve been telling the population that you had to address. The reason you haven’t been helping rebuild the city you helped destroy.”

“Helped destroy!?”

His eyes flitted up. “I don’t deny the necessity or heroism of your actions. But you can’t deny that not all of the damage was done by Kuvira’s colossus.”

A smart retort caught in her throat. Well, probably not smart. That was the thing. She _never_ seemed to say actually-smart things when her and Raiko disagreed. Which, again, was most of the time. And he always seemed to maneuver the conversations to get the better of her.

Korra centered herself. “I am thankful for the city’s patience, and I’m eager to get back to helping. What needs to be done?”

Raiko leaned back in his chair, hands clasped. Looking at her. Perhaps he’d had his retort ready and was surprised by her restraint. “Off the record, you _did_ take Asami Sato on a personal trip. Might I ask the nature of this… excursion?”

Korra weighed her options. Raiko wasn’t the press, and he wasn’t above spreading rumors to get his way. And he certainly wasn’t one of her or Asami’s friends. But he WAS an important person, and the way she and Asami had taken off must have made his job harder at the worst possible time. “It was… personal.”

The president grunted, frowning. “Are you two planning any more _personal_ endeavors?”

She blinked. They’d butted heads a lot, but his tone sounded downright accusatory. “What if we were?”

“Then I would hope you would be more… discreet about them,” Raiko answered carefully. “You have made it abundantly clear that you don’t answer to me, and frankly I need every resource I can get right now. So I’ll keep covering for your absence, and I’ll plea ignorance to any more… any more _dalliances_ , but can I at least have your word as the Avatar that rebuilding the city will be your main focus? That you won’t let _personal_ matters distract you until it’s done?”

His tone had wavered between exasperated and scathing and… judgmental? Over what? Her priorities? “Fine, sure. Anything else?”

“As a matter of fact…” Raiko leaned forward, grasping a large stack of papers. Then setting them on an even larger stack of papers. “…there are a few things the city needs your help with.”

 

***

 

Asami finished tethering the speedboat to the dock, the crewmen she’d taken from her ship already working to unload her crates. She’d stepped onto the pier when a welcome blue blur alighted beside her.

“Hey,” Korra smiled.

“Hey,” Asami smirked. Her arms began to reach up, toward Korra, wishing to embrace her as if it had been months and not hours. She managed to limit herself to a hand on Korra’s shoulder, instead.

Man, she had it bad, didn’t she? Her stomach fluttered and didn’t mind. “How’d you find me?”

Korra leaned in. “I just asked everybody I found where I could find the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Asami put a hand on her waist, smirking at Korra’s dorky smile. “Well, last time it took you three years to find yourself. I’m glad you did it sooner this morning.”

Korra’s blushes were the most amazing thing. They short-circuited the engineer’s brain, every time. She caught herself leaning in, leaning too close, eyes glancing at Korra’s lips and—

They both pulled back, Korra glancing at Asami’s workers, Asami pointedly looking the other way.

“Really, though, how _did_ you find me?” Asami asked.

Korra shrugged. “Talked to Raiko. Among other things, he told me where Future Industries temporary HQ is. Zhu Li pointed me this way. What’s in the crates?”

“Just some hardware,” Asami said, dismissing them with a wave. “Things are pretty bad, Korra. I’ve got limited resources with which I need to guarantee some working capital. I can’t rebuild the city without a company to do it with.”

“Hmmm.”

Dark wisps blew across Asami’s face. She tossed her head to clear her vision.

Korra let out a yearning sigh.

Asami wasn’t the only one who had it bad.

“Love it when you blush,” Korra said.

“Miss Sato?” one of the workmen asked, making both women leap back as if they’d touched a satomobile battery. “Where you want these crates?”

She pointed a quavering hand, staring blankly into the middle distance. “Truck.”

The sailors wheeled her cargo past, clomping as a gang between her and her girlfriend. She didn’t look at any of them, but she was sure they were all staring. Did she hear a snicker?

Spirits. Maybe Lin was right. Looking at each other was dangerous.

Korra coughed. “So, like I said, just talked to the president. He said maybe we should try to be, um…”

“Discreet?”

“Yeah, that was his word.”

Asami nodded, a smirk climbing back onto her lips. “He _has_ met you, right?”

“Hey!” Korra realized her response was a little too loud, garnering a few backwards glances from the workers. “Alright fine. Anyway I have about a dozen buildings’ worth of rubble to clear today, but I wanted to tell you we have a lunch date with the airbenders. Tenzin has to leave suddenly for the Fire Nation, not sure when he’ll be back, but we may not get another good chance to tell him for a while.”

“I’m…” Asami sighed. “I’d love to but I can’t. I have a meeting of my own with Raiko that could take up the rest of my day. In fact, I kind of hope it does. Future Industries needs this deal.”

“Oh,” Korra said, deflating as she watched. “I… guess we won’t tell Tenzin then.”

“No, no it’s okay,” Asami said. “When we decided that, I don’t think I’d realized just how _much_ was going on and how busy everyone was going to be. There’s not going to be a good time to tell everyone, so we’ll just have to do it when we can and hope nobody feels left-out or slighted.”

“Or we could just tell Bolin and Opal and the whole world will know within a few hours.”

“Or that,” Asami agreed.

A silence opened between them, loose and chafing. Neither of them wanted to leave, but neither felt like they could step closer, touch, embrace. Kiss. Asami so desperately wanted—

No. Focus. Focus! Work to be done.

“I’d better go,” Korra said.

Asami nodded. “Right. Call me tonight.”

“What if you work late?”

“I’ll call the island. No sleeping until I’ve heard your voice.”

“Deal,” Korra said, and took off.

Asami sighed, watching her go.

 

 ***

 

Jinora sat calmly at the table, pretending to meditate. A skill she’d become as proficient in as actually meditating. Mental focus and spirit-projection were both incredibly useful things—but so was passively observing when nobody else thought she was paying attention. Her parents and siblings going about their everyday business, Mom shuttling the first course of food to the table. Bumi and Kya sat in for lunch, too, chattering wearily about the city, happy to be sitting for a few minutes.

“Who are those seats for?” Meelo asked. Finally. She could always trust Meelo to make the needed inquiries.

“Korra asked me to leave those open,” Tenzin said.

“Korra’s back?!” echoed around the table.

Jinora kept her eyes from rolling, closed though they were. If anyone else bothered to wake early for meditation, they’d have known that.

“And Asami too, then?” Kya asked. Yes, Kya would be the one to think of that first.

“I… assume so,” Tenzin said. “I’m not sure what this is about, so you might as well stop asking.”

Now she had to stifle a fond grin. Her father always gave in to frustration so easily.

“I wonder if she brought back spirits to help!” Ikki said. “A whole army of spirits to help rebuild the city, or maybe plant a giant tree that we can all live in with all our spirit friends, and—”

Jinora was also proficient in tuning her sister out. That was a survival skill.

It helped her pick up hushed tones, those meant for privacy. “So,” Bumi was whispering, “where’s that sixty yuans you owe me?”

“I don’t owe you a thing,” Kya said.

“Do so! You lost the bet.”

“That remains to be seen.” Jinora could hear her smile.

“The bet was, by the end of the night, that night.”

“Yes, and they ran off together. Which means you owe _me_ sixty yuans.”

“No way! All the note said was ‘vacation.’”

“Yeah, alone, together. What more proof do you need?”

“Hey!” Meelo interrupted. “What’re you whispering about?”

Winces were the hardest thing to restrain. But Meelo gave Jinora plenty of practice with that too. He could always be trusted to muck things up as well.

“Leave them alone, dear,” Mom said. “Bumi is just in denial he lost a bet.”

“I did not!”

“A bet?” Dad asked, scandalized. “Bumi, that sort of conduct is not becoming of the Air Nation!”

“Oh, don’t be such a fuddy-duddy. Dad used to help Toph run scams on people, and _that’s_ when they were saving the world! And I didn’t lose the bet.”

“Of course not,” Mom said, with the same patient, conciliatory tone she used against her children’s obstinance. “And you don’t owe me thirty five yuans, either.”

“Pema!” Tenzin bristled. “You too?”

She chuckled. “Yes. Well, there was a bit of a pool, you see.”

Dad sighed. “A pool. When was this? About what?”

Mom continued: “In fact, I received a telephone call from Chief Beifong early this morning.”

“DID you now?” Kya asked. “What did she say?”

“She said, ‘I owe you fifty yuans.’ Then she hung up.”

“Yes, yes,” Tenzin said, “But what was this pool _about_?”

“Are we gonna go swimming?” Meelo asked.

Kya gave a sisterly groan. “People were taking bets on whether Korra and Asami would finally get together at Zhu Li and Varrick’s wedding.”

Dad snorted. “That’s ridiculous. They danced several times. I believe they sat together. They are clearly very good friends. Why would anyone think they would have trouble finding each other?”

Jinora had to spirit-project out of her body to keep from breaking. She took a few moments, floating somewhere in the spirit world, to slap her forehead repeatedly.

When she returned, the awkward silence still hung over the table. “Oh, Spirits’ sake,” Kya muttered.

“See?” Bumi said. “He’s her mentor, and he hasn’t seen it. You just want to see it too much!”

“See what?” Ikki asked. “Daddy, what are they all talking about?”

“Danced together…” Dad pondered. “Most of the night, come to think of it...”

“You're just so used to dismissing me that you're in denial about it,” Kya retorted, heat in her voice. Jinora would have to look in to that.

Dad was still muttering. “And Varrick didn’t know anything about the glider suits…”

“You did say it seemed odd that Asami left the city so suddenly,” prompted Mom.

Jinora cracked her eyes open just as her dad’s shot wide.

“Spirits, you don’t suppose they’re attracted to each other?!”

“Uh, hey, everyone,” Korra greeted from behind him. “Sorry I’m late.” Everyone stood, Ikki and Meelo rushing to hug her, Jinora calmly striding over for the same purpose. “I guess I don’t have an announcement to make after all.”

“Boom!” Kya shouted, her hands thrown into the air. She turned and slapped Bumi’s shoulder, laughing.

“Never gonna hear the end of this,” Bumi groaned.

Dad was still making a gulping fish face.

“Well I’m kinda glad you’re late,” Jinora said, finally getting her hug.

Korra blinked down at her. “Why?”

“Because,” Jinora whispered, “it gave Dad just enough time for me to win the _other_ pool.”

 

***

 

“So, who’s up for a song?” Wu asked, desperate to break the monotony of the train trip.

Kuvira, her hands and feet bound and a guard at either side, stared at him impassively. Mako and Suyin Beifong shook their heads to either side of him.

“You can’t all _seriously_ prefer sitting in awful silence for hours.”

“Some people have a lot to think about,” Suyin said, her eyes stabbing at her former protégé.

Wu sighed.

“Considering the last time you were on a train,” Mako said, “you should be happy this trip has been uneventful.”

“That doesn’t mean it needs to be BORing!” His head sagged in his hands.

“Well, a little bit of boring sounds good to me,” Mako replied. “With Korra back in action and everything else, um, resolved…” he spared Kuvira a glance. “We finally have a chance to bring some real balance to the world. Just like Korra wants.”

 

***

 

Asami had set up her crates in a particularly empty space at the rear of her property. Far from the mansion and past even the test track, the terrain was too hilly to do much with—or so she’d thought until she’d found out about her father’s secret factory buried underneath. The facility that had built the bulk of the Equalist’s equipment had been shuttered ever since—but given the state of her company, that may soon change.

“Mister President,” Asami greeted, shaking hands with him. He nodded gruffly, quick to pull his hand away and clasp his pant leg. She kept wearing her smile.

“General Iroh.” His handshake was firm and polite, as always.

“Lin.” The two women shared a nod. They were well past handshakes.

“Zhu Li,” she greeted. The other engineer gave her a smile. Marriage was clearly agreeing with her.

“Thank you all for meeting with me at such short notice. You know I’m not usually one for a hard sell, but this is something that is best demonstrated, and as you’ll soon see, it’s safest to do it somewhere big and empty.”

“Yes, yes, no need to butter us up,” Raiko complained. “What do you want to sell us?”

“Something I’ve been working on for a few years,” Asami said, reaching into a crate to pull out an example. “Guns.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anybody is worried, Asami isn't going to take a major heel-turn or have been a 'secret Red Lotus agent' all along or any such nonsense. The reason I'm writing this story at all is because I came up with a disagreement between the two that just felt so natural, so fitting and reasonable for each of them to take the side they do, that I couldn't let the idea go. They live in a complex world, and while they care deeply for each other, they have their own very different, very independent lives and priorities. As much as they both deserve to fall into decades of fluffy and/or smutty reward after their hellish early-adulthoods, Korra and Asami need to figure these issues out. 
> 
> Which might involve some level of kung-fu magic or steampunk mecha fighting. Who's to say? Oh, the drama potential! 
> 
> Comments and critiques appreciated! Could actually use a beta or two.


	2. Wrangling

“ _Well,” Korra said, looking at the portal over the crater's edge. “There it is.”_

“ _There it is,” Asami agreed._

_Neither moved. Korra's stomach was in knots. She hadn't slept the night before, barely ate this morning. When she'd suggested this vacation, the idea had just popped into her head, it seemed so natural! She hadn't realized until after asking Asami to spend two weeks alone with her that... Asami would be spending two weeks. Alone. With her._

_What did it mean?! Did it have to mean anything? Was she going crazy?_

_Asami cleared her throat. “Korra...”_

_The Avatar blinked. “Yeah?”_

_Asami held her hands in front of her, looking away. “Nothing. I'm just... It's a little funny, isn't it?”_

_Funny? Had she noticed how tense Korra felt! Quick, she had to act smooth. “Funny? What's funny? Weird funny or ha-ha funny?” She laughed. Maybe a little too long. She tried to stop, but then she felt ridiculous and actually started laughing. Which only made her feel_ more _ridiculous, making her laugh harder and blush and more or less want to die._

“ _Are you... okay?” Asami asked._

_Korra composed herself, standing rigid. “Yes! Yes, more than okay. I've been looking forward to this, Asami, really I have. We should've done it sooner.”_

“ _You... just made the spirit portal three weeks ago.”_

“ _I mean gone on a vacation together!”_

“ _Oh.” Asami looked away again._

_Korra scratched the back of her neck, looking away herself. “Yeah...”_

“ _Korra, why...”_

_Asami stopped, and Korra turned her head back. The other woman seemed to be arguing with herself, unsure what to say. Had she screwed up that badly?_

“ _I've been looking forward to this too,” Asami said, finally. “I love spending all the time with you I can. Always.”_

_Korra's mouth opened, but she had no idea what to say to that._

_So Asami kept speaking. “It's just... I've been thinking. We both need this trip. Spirits know I need to get away from things for a little while. But Mako and Bolin have had pretty rough times, too, and you didn't want to invite them. And the city is still wrecked, and my company... there's so much to do. But we're going.”_

_Everything inside Korra went rigid, as if she was being bloodbent. Did Asami not want to do this? Did she not want—_

“ _And I'm glad we're going!” Asami rushed, fingers squeezing Korra's arm. “I am! I couldn't wait, I just... you wouldn't just do this, right now. Not with... everything. This vacation, just you and I. It's... not just about getting away, is it?”_

“ _I-I...”_

_Asami turned those sparkling jade eyes toward her, with a smile that melted Korra's insides in an instant. “I'm sorry I'm so nervous. I just... you're right. I wish we'd done this ages ago.”_

_Korra reverted to manic laughter. “Nervous?” She managed. “You? Nervous?”_

_Asami's cheeks colored. “C'mon. Let's get moving.”_

_To be honest, Korra wasn't sure what had just happened. What did Asami have to be nervous about? She wasn't the one who was afraid that her best friend might see the two-week sojourn into the Spirit World as a romantic gesture! Worried that would ruin their friendship! Worried that she_ wanted _it to be romantic! So why was she analyzing everything for deeper meaning, blushing and awkward and—_

_And acting exactly like Korra felt._

_Oh._

Oh _._

_They paused for just a moment as the portal loomed above them, glancing at each other. Smiling. Warmth filled her, her heart fluttering like it wished to escape._

_They stepped into the light, hand-in-hand. Asami's eyes met her own, took hold of her, and pulled her through to another world. She was lost, inside those eyes._

_And found. Finally found._

 

***

 

“I’m glad I could corner you,” Kya said, walking Korra out after lunch. “Can we talk for a minute?”

The seriousness underneath Kya’s tone seemed to catch Korra’s attention. “Sure thing.”

Kya looked over her shoulders as they walked toward the pier. “First of all—” she began, then yanked the younger woman into a tight hug. “I am _so happy_ for you! Asami is an amazing woman, and she’s been devoted to you for years.”

“She’s pretty great,” Korra agreed, chuckling.

“And more, I’m just… well, happy. Hopeful.” Kya backed up, holding Korra by the shoulders. “But maaaybe a little hesitant.”

“Hesitant?”

Kya nodded, sighing. “Look, I’ve had to field some questions from Ikki, even Jinora, that any kid their age should have figured out by now. The White Lotus kept you way more sheltered even than my brother does his kids. I’m just… worried you aren’t prepared for what could happen.”

Now Korra was frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Dating another woman. It’s… hard.”

Korra’s frown became thoughtful. “Asami said something like that, too. But… if anything, shouldn’t it be better?”

“Well, no risk of knocking each other up. That’s a definite plus.”

Korra flushed so hard Kya expected steam to come from her ears. Kya smirked.

“Look, growing up, daughter of the Avatar, I was a public figure. Not as much as the two of you, maybe, but public enough. And the things people said, they way they said them… it’s hard. Not everybody is prepared to deal with the press third-wheeling their relationship.”

Korra shrugged. “It’s not like we haven’t both had bad press before. There’s still people who accuse her of being anti-bender because of her dad.”

“True,” Kya said, turning to lean against the rail, staring over the sea. “I’m not sure my escapades did much to help the cause.”

“Wait…” Korra said, leaning over the rail to look at her. “Are you saying you’re… that you…”

Spirits, did she not even know the words? “Lesbian, Korra. I didn’t even have a boy phase, I knew early.”

Korra frowned, mouthing the word. “It wasn’t… It wasn’t a phase, I don’t think. I mean, Mako and I were terrible for each other, but he’s still an attractive guy, you know?”

Kya shrugged. “If you say so. Bisexual, then.”

Korra mouthed that word too.

“Just… be careful,” Kya said, putting her hand on Korra’s shoulder. “Be sure you both mean it.”

“I am,” Korra answered at once.

“Good,” Kya said, looking over the bay again.

Korra followed suit, lost in thought.

“So…want any pointers? There’s a _lot_ you can do with waterbending.” Kya’s eyebrows danced.

The Avatar laughed, her blush less severe than Kya expected. “Maybe later.”

 

***

 

“As some of you may know," Asami said, leaning against the table set up beside her crate, "firearms technology has existed for some time, but been considered a novelty. They were expensive and cumbersome, they took forever to load, were far less accurate than bows, and tended to blow up in the user’s face. My rifles,” Asami hefted her personal model, “are as similar to those old guns as a Satomobile is to a cabbage cart.”

She passed out examples of the finger-long shells. “Packing the projectiles and propellant in machine-identical shells takes the guesswork—all the work, really—out of loading. With the economies of scale large orders would provide, individual rounds will be trivially cheap.”

“That is very clever, Miss Sato,” Zhu Li said, her eyes taking gauging size and weight. “Measured, precise explosives to create a targeted strike. I see the appeal.”

“As somebody who’s had to fight with and against benders her whole life, I learned a long time ago: strikes need to be measured, precise—and final.”

“So you’ve solved many of the logistical problems,” General Iroh said. “But you haven’t explained how you improved the accuracy.”

The engineer nodded, always happy to have an attentive audience. Lin was frowning through the whole thing, and if Raiko wasn't keeping up, he certainly wasn’t going to let on. Let everyone else’s reactions convince him, if need be.

“The airbenders gave me the idea, actually,” Asami said, holding up her rifle and pointing at the barrel. “When they want to move something a long distance, a simple gust of wind isn’t sufficient. They create a vortex, a spinning column of air, to keep the object spinning. The outside of the barrel is smooth, but the inside has twisting grooves from front to back.”

Zhu Li’s breath caught. “THAT is beyond clever. Varrick will be mad he didn’t think of it.”

Lin huffed. “Once you're done explaining it to him, he _will_ have thought of it.”

 

***

 

Bolin tuned Varrick out during the drive back to the city. The comment the man had made, about there still being bad guys, stuck with him. Of course there were still bad guys, generally, like, somewhere. Not Kuvira or Zaheer level bad guys. Heck, hopefully not even Varrick level bad guys. But there were still bullies and gangsters and—

Wait, why hadn’t he heard about gangsters in a while? It wasn’t like the triads to let something like a crisis get in the way of doing what they did. Which was bad things.

Unfortunately, the wrong brother was in town to deal with it.

“Hey, Varrick,” Bolin said. “Do you still have your contacts with the triads?”

“ _ALLEGED_ contacts! And of course, why?”

“You do? I thought you were turning over a new leaf!”

“Look, flipped leaf or no, it’s not like my contacts just stopped existing. I don’t look for ‘em or anything, and I don’t sell them weapons. Or trucks! Why does everybody always call me out when Sato was the one who offered to sell them trucks!?”

“You knew about that?”

“Of course I did! I know everything! And what I don’t know, I make up!”

“Okay… so do you know what the triads are up to? Stealing food at the camps or something?”

“Maybe just enough to keep the cops working here. Look, it doesn’t take a genius, criminal or otherwise, to figure it out. PABU could figure it out!”

“Hey!” Bolin cried, holding the fire ferret up so Varrick could look in his sad eyes. “Pabu _is_ a genius. Have you seen him juggle?”

“Yes it’s delightful,” Varrick said, arms crossed. Then they burst into the air. “They’re after loot, Bolin! The evacuation was too fast for anyone to bring much, so all the best stuff is still left in the city!”

“But… Lin sends out patrols. Airships.”

“When the only engines in the whole city belong to the cops, they’re pretty easy to avoid.”

Bolin frowned.

“Hey, don’t try too hard there, kid. Maybe ask your little genius there what to do?”

He held Pabu up, looking his furry friend square in the eye. “You got any ideas, buddy?”

Pabu chattered at length.

 

***

 

Asami adjusted her earmuffs, hefted her rifle to her shoulder, and aimed. She glanced surreptitiously at the flags downrange, adjusted her second-nature calculations, and squeezed the trigger. She didn’t wait to hear the glass bottle shatter before moving to the next target, twice as far away. She pulled and reset the bolt, expelling the spent shell and loading a new one. Squeeze. Next target, further away still. And a forth. And a fifth.

She lowered the weapon, expelling the final shell. Then, in spite of it being mathematically impossible for there to be any further rounds, she set the safety and double-checked to make sure it was empty. Just like a welding torch or steam-riveter—one had to respect one’s tools.

“How far away was that last one?” Raiko asked, squinting. “Did you even hit it?”

“She did," Iroh said. "I’d say about a quarter mile.”

“Almost,” Asami agreed. “Hundred and sixty yards”

Lin harrumphed.

Asami turned down range, adjusted her earmuffs back into place and reloaded. “Lin, if you wouldn’t mind lobbing that earth-disk as far as you can?”

“Why not?” Lin groused with an audible shrug. Asami raised the rifle to her shoulder just as Lin sent the disk sailing.

All those years, with Korra away.

All that time, remembering.

She’d had time to build, to tinker. To practice.

She squeezed the trigger, and the disk broke apart midair.

 

***

 

Korra lifted and shifted and flattened and crushed, clearing mountains of earth and metal and debris as the engineers instructed her to. She focused on the work.

But her mind wandered.

“Just, be careful,” Kya had said. “Be sure you both mean it.”

“I am sure,” Korra whispered to herself, setting another foundation. She was outpacing entire earthbending work crews. “I _am_.”

Sure about herself at least.

Asami, though? It had felt like it, in the Spirit World. Even as they returned. But why was Asami so hesitant now? Was she just being her normal, prudent self?

This was all so new to her. There were new words. There was an entire _vocabulary_ she’d somehow missed out on! Maybe if she’d known, maybe she would have realized her feelings for Asami sooner.

Why was everybody making such a big deal out of it? Kya was a lesbian, she was famous and normal. Normal enough. Though Korra hadn’t known about it, either.

Even growing up she never remembered Kya having a girlfriend. Not that she’d known about, at least. Surely if there was someone important in her life, Korra would have heard about it, right? Maybe it was rare? Maybe it was weird?

Well, Korra didn’t mind either of those things. The Avatar was the pinnacle of both, after all.

But did Asami see it that way, too?

 

***

 

Asami let each of the others take turns firing the weapon, with Asami’s careful guidance. Lin flatly refused. Raiko and Iroh were thoughtful, though Raiko winced each time and proved an awful shot. Zhu Li honed in on the target quickly, actually hitting it two times of the five.

“To be fair, I've been practicing for some time,” Asami said as Zhu Li joined the others.

“Does Korra know about that?” Lin asked.

Asami blinked. What did that have to do with anything? “Avatar Korra is not a part of Future Industries. So, no.”

“I’ll admit,” General Iroh said, “when my mother mentioned these weapons to me, I was skeptical.”

Raiko raised an eyebrow. “The Fire Nation already employs these?”

“They are my only other buyer so far, and that was preliminary,” Asami explained. “The Fire Nation has long had the lowest proportion of benders per-capita. As more and more of them have been taken into power generation and industry, their military and police have become underpowered. The Fire Lord believes this may help counteract that.”

“For as long back as history goes,” General Iroh said, staring at the targets downrange, “victory went to the side with the most benders. Or at least, the best. The Equalist uprising, four years ago, was the first time in modern history that a force comprised entirely of non-benders defeated a standing, bender-supported military.”

Asami shifted uncomfortably. That was not a time she liked remembering.

“I don’t like it,” Lin said. “When one of my officers sends a cable at someone, it knocks them down or ties them up. We’re in control the entire time. Once you fire that thing, the bullet just _goes_.”

Asami nodded quickly. “That’s why I’m being very selective in who I’m selling them to. I want to keep tight control on these. I have patents out on all the major components as well, so anybody who thinks they may see a chance to break into this market will have to face the ire of my lawyers.”

Hopefully, her law firm hadn’t blown up too.

“I must admit, I am… intrigued by the possibilities,” Raiko said, pinching his chin. “Would these have helped against Kuvira?”

“Not against that colossus,” Asami admitted. “Probably not the mecha either, barring a miracle shot.”

“We can hardly expect giant spirit-vine powered platinum mecha to be the new paradigm of warfare,” General Iroh mused. “Though as I said, paradigms have been shifting quickly. Planes and mecha-tanks are still giving strategists fits.”

“This last crisis proves that the United Republic requires a robust defense,” Raiko declared. “But as powerful as those mecha tanks are, the bulk of any army is still going to be comprised of thousands of men and women, most of which are rendered meaningless by benders and mecha.”

“But these… Satorifles would help with that,” Zhu Li offered.

“Don’t call them that,” Asami said firmly.

“Oh. I’m sorry, Miss Sato. I just assumed, with your company’s tradition of—”

“These are a valuable tool and we can do a lot of good with them,” Asami said, retrieving her rifle from the President, “but I don’t want my name on them.”

“So you realize what you’re doing here, then,” Lin said. “Policing benders is bad enough, but now some triad tough can shoot me from three blocks away?”

“I do realize what I’m doing. I’m selling weapons, just like Future Industries always has. Specifically and exclusively to people I trust to use them well.” Raiko wasn’t her favorite person, but neither was he a warmonger. “Trust me, I know how dangerous these guns can be. You _want_ Future Industries to be the one making them. Another company would flood the world with them for a quick yuan.” She glanced at Zhu Li, who nodded simple agreement. “Somebody else would figure them out, sooner or later. Better it’s us.”

Lin huffed, turning away.

Raiko cleared his throat. “Could they be made of platinum?”

“The whole shipment in the harbor is,” Asami replied. “I ordered them to help against a metal-bending army, after all. General, may I ask, what happened to Kuvira’s troops?”

“We are still processing the rank and file,” Iroh replied, ignoring a warning glance from Raiko. “Most of them will be paroled after a period of labor, as was a condition of their surrender. The officers and the benders we keep under guard.”

“And the people guarding them,” Zhu Li asked, “they’re all benders, I expect.”

If she had the slightest inclination that Zhu Li could be hired away from her husband, Asami would have done so in a heartbeat.

“They are,” Iroh answered, fingers worrying his chin. “If non-benders could be safely assigned there instead, those guards could help with rebuilding.”

Asami leaned back against the table. She and Lin would need to have a talk, but Raiko and Iroh were definitely buying. The rest of the afternoon would just be coming to a price.

 

***

 

Jinora leapt through the air as if she didn't need her bending to fly. Kai caught her deftly, staggering back at the impact, struggling to stay upright with the weight of kisses that followed.

Opal giggled, watching the scene. Those two. It hadn’t even been three weeks! “Tenzin not on the island, then?” There’s no way Jinora would risk such a public display if her father might walk by. The other airbending Master might not disapprove, exactly. Per se. But he certainly wasn’t comfortable with it, and he Let It Be Known that was the case.

“The mission went great, by the way,” Opal said, stretching from the long bison ride. “Airbenders might not be the _best_ option for redirecting an overflowing river, but we figured something out.”

“I knew you would,” Jinora said, holding Kai’s hand and composed but otherwise flushed. “And yes, my father just left on a mission of his own to the Fire Nation. He may be gone for some time.”

“He left you in charge?” Kai asked, eyebrows rising.

“More or less,” Jinora smirked. “Though mom still outranks me, somehow.”

Opal crossed her arms, chuckling. “That does rather undermine one’s authority, doesn’t it?”

Jinora rolled her eyes, agreeing.

“So, what’s new?” Kai asked.

Jinora’s eyes went wide. She bounced, facing back toward Kai, clasping her hands together. Then she grimaced. “Darn, I shouldn’t tell you! They don’t want anyone spreading the word… but I’m sure she would’ve… rrr!” Jinora growled in frustration.

“What is it?” Kai asked, concern in his voice.

Opal stepped forward, more intrigued than concerned. That kind of excitement from Jinora didn’t mean something bad. The girl was so cool and collected; she only turned to mush about one subject:

Romance.

“Who is it?” Opal asked.

Jinora bit her lip, leaning in conspiratorially. “Okay, don’t tell anyone. Only my family knows right now, but you two are practically family.”

“Is it someone _in_ the family?” Opal asked.

“Did I miss something?” asked Kai.

The girls scoffed. “Apparently so!” Jinora said.

“Out with it!” Opal hissed.

Jinora nodded quickly. “Korra and Asami.”

Opal’s eyes went wide. “They didn’t!”

“They did!”

“Did what?” Kai asked.

“They _didn’t_!”

“They went on a vacation together, for two weeks, _alone!_ Korra came and told us herself!”

Opal grabbed Jinora's hands, and soon they were both leaping up and down in a fit of giggles.

Off to the side, Kai scratched the back of his head, watching the two like they were crazy people. “So, maybe I’m the idiot here, but could someone please tell me straight-up what happened?”

“Straight-up?” Opal asked. “Not in this case.”

Jinora gasped, then laughed. “Opal!”

Opal snickered, then turned to the young man. “Like Jinora said, big secret right now until we’re told otherwise. But apparently, Korra and Asami are dating.”

Kai blinked. “Oh. They can do that?”

“They’re both grown women,” Opal said, eyes narrowing. “Why shouldn’t they?”

His hands jerked up quickly to the defensive. “No, no I mean that’s great! They can do whatever they want! I’d just… that sort of thing doesn’t happen in the Earth Kingdom.”

Opal crossed her arms. “I assure you, it does.”

Jinora coughed, nodding at an approaching acolyte. “I suppose Kai and I need to have a talk, don’t we?” Opal nodded. Kai looked ill.

The acolyte stepped up to the group. “Sorry to interrupt, Master Jinora. Message from the Northern Water Tribe.”

“Oh? Has there been a change of plans regarding the waterbenders my father requested?”

“No, this has to do with another matter. A diplomatic one. The chieftains of the Northern Tribe have requested airbender arbitration of an international matter.”

“I see,” Jinora said, all business. “Do you have the details?”

“Only that Chief Eska is should be arriving within the next few days.”

“Oh, neat!” Opal said. “Maybe I’ll get to meet… her, is it? Eska’s the girl, right?”

“You… don’t know about Eska?” Jinora asked.

“Not really. Should I?”

Jinora took a deep breath to center herself. Odd response. She looked to Kai, who shrugged.

“Well, I think meeting her would be interesting.”

“On that, we can agree,” Jinora said.

 

***

 

Bolin returned to the construction site he’d been working to get in a few more hours, only to find that the construction was complete. Not just cleared of debris, not just flattened and ready for building, but _complete_.

“Huh.”

He checked the street, checked the address. This was definitely right. Weird.

He moved on to the next one, grabbing wads of trash as he went. The litter wouldn’t pick up itself, and it seemed a waste of airbenders to do it.

Where he’d been expecting another pile of rubble, he saw a half-constructed building, an incredibly energized work crew, and—hovering above with glowing eyes—Korra.

“Okay that makes sense now.”

Girders bent and flew. Earth cracked and twisted and rose. And perhaps most impressive of all, spirit vines grew apace with the walls, coiling gently but not invasively. The building took an odd shape because of it, more curves than angles. As Bolin got closer, he saw a foreman below Korra’s feet, calling up to her through a bullhorn while bickering with a toad spirit about the blueprints.

“Oh good, it’s lava guy,” said the spirit.

“What, you want _lava_ now too?” foreman Wong sputtered.

“Um, what’s going on?” Bolin asked.

Wong rolled his eyes. “Oh, it started out great. Avatar Korra comes here, plows through a week’s work by herself, we get a whole building done in no time flat. But then froggy here—”

“Chu,” croaked the spirit, with an air of forced patience.

The foreman grabbed his hair. “ _Chu_ here decides, hey, if the spirits live here, they should get a say in how the buildings are rebuilt! Chu thinks he’s an architect! Did Chu spend five years at Omashu Technical getting architecture and engineering degrees? No sir! No need for that!”

“Chu’s family in the Spirit World lives in a great tower of water and glass,” the frog nodded sagely.

“ _For the last time we are not building with water!_ ”

“And Korra’s okay with this?” Bolin asked.

“Okay with it?” Wong sighed. “She _loved_ the idea! She said, hey, we’re so far ahead, why not try something new? Apparently the Avatar is an architect too!”

“Everything okay down there?” Korra’s voice echoed down, deep and ageless and honestly kinda scary.

“Hey, Korra!” Bolin waved.

“Oh!” Korra blinked, and the glow left her eyes. The air-sphere holding her up dissipated just in time to set her gently beside him. “How you been, Bo?”

“I guess you’re back,” Bolin said. “Bridging the worlds again, I see.”

“Yeah well, we didn’t see any cities in the Spirit World, so I was curious what that might look like.”

“A _whole city_?” Wong cried.

Before Bolin could ask about Korra's sudden vacation, the deep groan of bending metal caught all their attention. “Look out!” workers cried as a wall lurched inward.

Then it stopped, supported by the spirit vine that had grown up with it.

“Huh,” said Korra.

“Huh,” said Bolin.

“Huh,” said Wong.

“Chu.”

 

***

 

Asami smiled at the contract again. Raiko’s signature was well dry, himself and Iroh already on their way back to the city. Full purchase of the shipment in harbor, training to begin in three days of the United Republic of Nations’ First Rifleman Corps. Better still, Zhu Li had worked up a proposal for Varrick: secondary production rights on ammunition and accessories, in exchange for a portion of Varrick’s Future Industries shares and his personal (but legally-binding) word to stay out of firearms production. The bullets were useless without the guns themselves, and Asami would never relinquish control of them.

Lin, for some reason, had lingered, but had not said much. She’d responded coolly, but affirmatively, to allowing some of her lieutenants to come and familiarize themselves with the weapons. The rest of the time she’d alternated between staring at Asami or glaring at the rifles.

“Shoot one of those at me.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Sato, I _need_ to know if my officers will be vulnerable to these.”

“I won’t let the triads get any.”

“Don’t be a fool.”

The women glared at each other, but Asami nodded, acknowledging the point. Then she mentally carried their arguments several steps forward. “I never fire with anybody downrange. I don’t even like firing with people in my periphery.”

“Very responsible. Nobody else will be like that.” Lin pinched her nose. “Not everybody thinks like you do, Sato.”

“I know that.”

“No you don’t.” Lin shook her head, glancing at the rifle again like it was a spider-snake. “You really don’t. The basic, impossible _irrationality_ people are capable of never really penetrates that genius brain of yours.”

“That sounds like a good thing, then.”

“Most of the time, it is. But you look at that, and you see it as a tool. You know what I see?”

Asami turned, packing everything back into their crates. “I thought we’d decided that impossible irrationality never penetrates my genius brain.”

Lin glared. “People are going to _die_ , Sato. Benders are tough, but we know how to fight them. Swords, spears, clubs, that’s easy. This?” The police chief grabbed a rifle from the crate, touching one for the first time to wave it in Asami’s face. “What’s to stop somebody from scaling a tower and picking people off on the ground?”

Asami snatched it back. “You have a sick mind, Chief.”

“No, but I spend all day, _every_ day protecting the city from people who do. Do you know how many murders there are in this city every year?”

“My mother was killed by a firebender. You don’t see me trying to get it outlawed.”

“No, you’re just making it so any goon with the right black market connection can do the same thing to some other girl’s mother, without even having to be in bending range.”

Asami slammed the crate shut. “And maybe if my dad or our guards had these guns, that Agni Kai bastard would be the one in the ground instead of her!”

The women glared at each other in acidic silence. Weighing each other. Playing the argument they expected. Move, countermove.

Finally, Lin growled in her throat and looked away. “Do what you want, Sato. I can’t stop you, especially when you won't even listen to yourself." 

A curt retort caught in Asami's throat. She _had_ been rather firm about the rifles not bearing her name...

She shook her head. That was a branding concern. Nothing more. "I appreciate your feedback, Lin. You can rest assured, I'll do everything in my power to keep these in the right hands." 

Lin glanced back at her. "I'm sure you will. You still better figure out how you’re gonna tell Korra about this.”

“Korra has nothing to do with it,” Asami muttered.

“Maybe not,” Lin replied as if she didn’t believe it. “But the Avatar might want to weigh in. I sure hope her opinion matters more than mine.”

 

***

 

Mako roused as the train began to slow. “Mmn?” he asked, groggily.

“Planned stop,” Suyin explained, frowning into the darkness outside the window. “We’re supposed to pick up representatives from the new government of Lao for the conference in Ba Sing Se. Kuvira’s governor was deposed after she surrendered,” she said, glancing at the former dictator’s sleeping form on the bench across from them. “Took them longer than the other states to figure out who to send.”

The firebender sat up. “Still. Best chance for Kuvira supporters to attack the train.” Just because she’d surrendered, didn’t mean all her people had. “Could all be a ruse.”

“You have a suspicious mind, Mako. No wonder my sister thinks so well of you.”

He wasn’t sure how to take that. “I’m gonna check it out. You got this?”

Su glanced at Kuvira. The woman hadn’t offered a shred of resistance since surrendering to Korra… but she hadn’t acted very regretful, either.

Which was why three entire cars were filled with White Lotus guards.

Still, nobody questioned Mako as he moved his way up toward the passenger section. White Lotus guards nodded respect as he passed. All the talk of him being a war hero, the medal President Raiko had given him… it was too much. They’d all risked their lives to end the war; why didn’t everyone else get the same treatment?

“Mako,” one of the guards nodded. A woman, late twenties, 5’6, dark complexion, Earth Kingdom features. Her eyes glanced up and down his features as well. The guard beside her chuckled at something. Probably some private joke.

“Tsu Ying,” Mako nodded back, deciding to pause and talk to her. She’d seemed more friendly than most White Lotus guards. At least, she was the only one who had introduced herself. And she wasn’t all weird about his relationship with the Avatar or his brush with death in the colossus. “Any information on the dignitaries we’re picking up?”

She shrugged. “If there is, nobody has told me about it. Anything interesting happen in the party car?”

Mako chuckled. “No. It’s weird how tiring sitting in a train all day can be. Most everyone is asleep. Even Kuvira.”

Tsu Ying crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall. “How does a deposed warlord sleep? Does she bolt awake, begging the Avatar for forgiveness? Mumble about atrocities as she nods off?”

“Actually, she just crosses her arms, rests her head on the wall, and nods off. Sleeps sound as a baby.”

Tsu Ying gave a dismissive laugh. “Figures. After everything she did, doesn’t seem fair that she sleeps better than me.”

“Maybe you’d sleep better if some pretty young man was there to tuck you in?” said the other guard, older man, classic Fire Nation, 5’10.

“Tss!” his duty partner hissed at him, as if she were scolding a pet. “So, what brings you out of your den, Detective?”

“Just nervous about stopping before Zaofu,” Mako said, leaning against the wall opposite her. “We were supposed to stop there for a day or two while we made sure Ba Sing Se is calm and Kuvira’s supporters aren’t going to try anything. She still has a lot of them, especially in the capital.”

“And you’re afraid somebody might have arranged this stop to keep us from getting to Zaofu safely? It would be a good opportunity, we’re as far from support as we’ll get on this trip and they have the cover of night.”

“Right?” at least somebody appreciated Mako’s paranoia.

The other guard coughed. “Looks like they’re here,” he said, nodding toward the front of the car.

Mako jumped from the wall, startled. When had the train stopped? “I gotta go,” he said, offhandedly, walking toward the growing hubbub.

“Is there a problem?” asked someone from within the murmuring crowd by the door, his voice scowling.

“ _You’re_ the representative from Lao?” one of the guards asked. Mako pushed his way through, trying to get a look.

“That’s what I said!”

The crowd parted, briefly, and Mako got a glimpse of the new passenger. 5’9, late sixties, sun-dark skin, balding. Stocky and muscular, dressed in a simple worn work robe, collected at his shoulder by a stylized crimson broach.

Mako’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t seen what he thought he saw, had he?

“And could you tell me,” the guard interrogating the man continued, “what _that_ is supposed to mean?” He stabbed at the broach with his finger just as Mako worked his way where he could make it out.

“This?” the representative said, clasping it to give it a glance. “This is a Red Lotus.”

 

***

 

Asami poured herself another drink, waiting by the telephone in her massive, empty house.

She had so much she wanted to talk about. Her company was saved—or at least, not completely doomed like it had seemed this morning. Zhu Li knew about them, which meant Varrick did too, and who knew how many else. Raiko wanted her to rebuild the city again, better than before—almost easier when it was demolished and nobody was in the way, but they had to work fast.

Mostly though, she just wanted to talk to her. To hear her.

The sun had set, she’d long since eaten. She’d called the Air Temple, and called it again. She tried to work, tried to read. Tried anything to distract herself from the silent phone. The growing worry.

What if Korra was in trouble? What if she’d forgotten? Which one would be worse?

The night was dark and quiet. The world was bleary, from droopy eyes or alcohol or both. It was well past way too late and on its way to way too early.

Asami waited by the telephone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping you're all enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Apologies for any poor grammar or spelling, I'm not being quite as perfectionist as I typically am. Which is kind of the point of this exercise really--permission to be imperfect. And rewarding myself with Korrasami fluff. 
> 
> The vacation flashbacks will probably begin chapters throughout. They are mostly fluff but I love them. If I do it right, they may even prime readers for the theme of the chapter in question! Ha-ha, science! 
> 
> As always, feedback is encouraged!


	3. Late Night

_They collapsed beside each other after a long day of hiking and climbing. They'd gone so far and seen so much... probably. Asami honestly couldn't remember any of it. Most of the Spirit World she'd seen had been reflected in Korra's eyes. She didn't need to ration herself anymore, didn't need to look away before it got too intimate, didn't need to—”_

_“We're staring at each other again,” Korra said, her thumbs tracing a slow circle on the back of Asami's hands._

_“Mhm.”_

_Korra smiled. Oh, that smile. Three years ago, after Zaheer, she'd been afraid she'd never see it again. Even after Korra had returned, her smiles were... guarded. Hesitant. Like Korra was still hiding deep inside herself. Not eager to take on the world with the wild, willful abandon she'd had fresh out of the White Lotus compound._

_Asami felt herself smile, and couldn't think of the last time she'd felt this way, either._

_Korra_ liked _her. Actually LIKED her. In a non-platonic, fall-into-your-eyes kind of way. Neither of them had brought it up, given it a name, but... Her breath caught as she forced her mind to really accept this._ _She'd seen how society reacted when it found out somebody was_ that way _, she'd heard mutters, whispers, cruel laughter. The two girls who seemed so happy at boarding school, until one came back from a visit from her family..._

_She'd cut off her own explorations after that. What would her father have thought? What would the city, or her company, or... or her friends? Far easier to stay secluded than to risk ridicule. Far easier to be seen with boys, any boys at all, and ignore the appeal of the alternative...  
_

_How ridiculous. Acting like that. Thinking like that. She was_ Asami Sato _. Nobody got to tell her what was right for her. Nobody got to scare her away from herself. She needed to explore this, to understand it. Maybe the world would be cruel, but she'd seen her share of cruelty, and survived it. She could do this. She could have it. It was her right._

_And besides._

_This was_ Korra.

_"Can I touch you?” Asami asked, out of nowhere._

_Korra giggled. The Avatar. Giggled. Asami let out a ragged breath. “Sure,” Korra said._

_She wasn't even sure what she'd intended, asking. It's just... hands weren't enough. They'd held hands all day. There was so much..._

_Asami twined her fingers behind Korra's neck, the Avatar's short hair just brushing her thumbs. Their foreheads rested together. Asami closed her eyes._

_“Enjoying the trip so far?” Korra asked._

_Asami made a satisfied sound, small, deep in her throat. She was warm, all over, all through._

_“Yeah, this is... this is pretty nice.”_

_Another soft sigh._

_“Uh, Asami. Hard to have a conversation if only one of us is talking. And I really think we need to talk about... that is, we should figure out—”_

_She opened her eyes and pressed a single finger to Korra's lips. “Shh.”_

_Korra's lips were busy with Asami's after that._

 

***

 

Korra yawned blearily, wishing with all her Avatar might that just one tea shop would magically open. The rhythmic rocking motion of Naga’s placid walk was nearly enough to knock her out.

“Long day?” Bolin asked, behind her in the saddle.

“Lotta work,” Korra agreed. Also, she hadn’t slept since the Spirit World. Probably should have thought of that before agreeing to patrol. “You sure you don’t have any, I dunno, leads or anything?”

“No! I tried thinking like Mako but my hair won’t stay that way long enough.”

Korra snickered despite her fatigue. “I don’t think his detective powers come from his hair, Bo.”

“Maybe not. But it’s not like I can grow super-tall to try that.”

She rolled her eyes, and sighed. Which became another yawn.

This was stupid. What Bolin had said, about the gangs secretly looting the town, made sense, but Republic City was huge! How were they supposed to catch them red-handed by just wandering the empty city endlessly on the back of a polar bear dog?

And why did it feel like she was forgetting something?

An old newspaper ruffled past, tumbling along the sidewalk until it was caught with a small pile of debris in a calm spot made by a twist of spirit vine. Just an accident, or were the vines trying to help clean the city up?

Korra smacked her forehead. The vines! She pulled Naga to a stop, sliding off her side.

“See something?” Bolin asked.

“Remembered I can do something,” Korra said, kneeling beside a vine. She closed her eyes—apologizing to her body that it wasn’t for sleep—and placed her hand on it.

She saw herself and Bolin in stark relief, up close yet miniscule, as if the city were herself and she was staring at a single pore. A huge gash rent her center, throbbing, spiritual energy ragged around it, but the wound was starting to scab over. Her city was healing.

Korra felt along the vine, searching. The city was huge, but she’d found Wu this way when the city was at it’s busiest. Then, she’d at least known exactly who she was looking for. This time, she was looking for—anybody moving, really. The vines didn’t know who was supposed to be where, but they could tell when somebody was around.

As easy as that, she found them. One group of them, at least.

She stood, racing back to Naga. “North. The shopping district. All sorts of noises coming from closed stores.” 

“Wow, you’re sure?” Bolin asked, climbing onto Naga behind her.

“Yeah. Something Toph taught me.”

Bolin shook with excitement. Even _mentioning_ Toph made him squirmy like a hyper kid. “So awesome!”

“Go, Naga!” Korra said, squeezing her legs tight. Naga bound off. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Asami would have suggested it right away.

Korra’s stomach dropped straight out of her, plummeting to the core of the Earth. Asami! Oh, spirits, what time was it? One day back and she was already breaking promises.

But… criminals. Were committing a crime. Right now. She couldn’t just call it off to keep her girlfriend happy, could she?

Asami would understand, right?

The Avatar wanted to throw up.

But at least she was awake again.

 

***

 

Mako was a shocked as the train full of White Lotus guards to hear the Lao representative—Torru—announce his allegiance so nonchalantly. Cries for his immediate arrest rang out throughout the compartment. The train did have a prison car, after all.

Whoever had greeted Torru kept his cool. “You are claiming membership in that organization?”

Torru shrugged. “Not ‘claiming membership’ to anything. That’s the point, innit? The Free State of Lao is done with labels and traditions. The Earth Queen was deposed so we’d have a chance for freedom, and we were enjoying it until Kuvira took over. Now she’s gone, and we’ve taken it back, and we intend to keep it.”

“What’s going on?” Tsu Ying whispered, a step behind Mako.

“Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the door?”

“Yeah, and I’m guarding it from here. What’s going on?”

“The representative from Lao is Red Lotus.”

Tsu Ying’s eyes narrowed, fingers tightening around the knife at her waist. The sentiment seemed universal throughout the crowd. The White Lotus held a special hate for the anarchist sect that had splintered off from their own ranks. “We knew they’d show their heads again, sooner or later.”

“Seems like a weird way to do it,” Mako mused. “Definitely means he isn’t here to help Kuvira.”

“Order!” the White Lotus leader shouted, silencing the growing clamor. “Representative Torru, you are traveling alone?”

“I’m old,” he said. “Everyone else had work to do.”

“And you’re not a bender?”

“Not that you’ll believe me, but I ain’t. There somewhere an old man an sit on this train?” He looked through the crowd, wary at the reception he was getting.

The look wasn’t lost on the White Lotus leader, either. Some of the looks his people were giving him were downright mutinous.

Tsu Ying cleared her throat, raising her voice. “Maybe he should ride in the back? With the other dignitaries?”

‘Dignitaries,’ meaning Kuvira and her incidentally-influential escort.

Her superior gave her a look of thanks. “Yes. That may be prudent. Please, representative Torru, allow Tsu Ying and Mako to escort you to the, uh…”

“The secure car,” Mako offered, making an inviting gesture with his hands.

“Long as I get to sit” Torru shrugged, trudging between them.

 

***

 

Naga slowed as they approached the northern end of the shopping district, past Little Ba Sing Se. Korra hadn’t spent much time here, and it didn’t take long to see why—these shops were swanky. She didn’t have the fashion sense _or_ the yuans to shop places like these.

They passed one shop, the window mannequin displaying a burgundy and grey skirt and mantle affair just like the one Asami wore. “So this is where Asami shops,” Korra mused. Maybe she could pick something up for her? A gift?

“Uh, probably not,” Bolin said. “More like, this is where people go when they want to dress like Asami.”  

“Oh.”  

“Yeah, she’s a bit of a trend-setter, that Asami. Our friend. Asami. Everybody wants to be like her. What with the hair and the brains and the money and the, the hair. Hey, maybe there’ll be a new fad where people run off in pairs to the Spirit World all of a sudden? Since, you know. She did that. With you.”

“Bolin, are you getting close to a point, or—”

“I dunno! Maybe I just wanted to see the Spirit World sometime too, when there aren’t dark spirits trying to eat me or something!”

“Well, it’s still there. You and Opal can go whenever you want.”

“Heh, me and Opal, alone on a vacation, somewhere exotic and weird, like that? That does sound great, actually, after all the awkward me-getting-her-family-captured that happened lately. A nice romantic getaway would be just the— romantic getaway would be… romantic…”

Korra winced. No fair. She wasn’t even _looking_ at Asami this time! “Sound like a skipping record there, Bolin.”

“What? No, I was just… distracted by all the… stars out. Up there.”

She rolled her eyes. “You can ask, Bolin.”

“Ask? What would I ask. I’ve got nothing to ask. We’re just two pals, out here riding a polar bear dog, fighting crime. No questions needed, no ma’am.”

“You sure.”

“Yeeaaaaah no so that vacation, that was just a, a friendly sort of thing, right?”

Naga tensed beneath her. “Hold on.”

“Yeah, sorry, I shouldn’t be prying, it’s none of my—”

“Shh!” Korra held up her hand, nearly clobbering Bolin by accident. “Naga hears something.”

The polar bear dog whimpered, nose snuffing against the cobbled street. She moved toward the curb, and began pawing at a storm drain.”

The sewers. “No wonder the police never got wind of anything. They’re doing all their dirty work underground.”

“Yeah, there’s that whole network of tunnels down there. A lot of the people who used to live there moved into the wilds.”

Korra quirked an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

“Oh, we still hang out. I miss the stew sometimes.”

“The stew. You missed that.”

“What can I say?” he shrugged wide. “You grow up on a meal, you crave it sometimes. So, we going down there?”

Korra slid down Naga’s side and metalbent the grate off, throwing it carelessly down the street.

“That sounds like a yes.”

 

***

 

Suyin turned as the compartment door opened. Mako poked his head through, looking frazzled. “Uh, Suyin?”

“Well, we’re moving,” she said. “Probably means we avoided a loyalist attack.”

“Yeah,” Mako agreed. “Could you step out here for a moment?”

Suyin frowned, eying the White Lotus guards flanking Kuvira. Sure, Kuvira’s hands were bound, her legs tied half-a-step apart, and the compartment was free of metal, but she’d practically raised the woman. There was little they could do to stop her if she truly set her mind on escape, short of keeping her drugged or having the Avatar remove her powers.

Suyin had suggested both.

“She’s asleep,” one of the guards offered. “We can handle it.”  

“Zaheer was in a cage for thirteen years, and four guards couldn’t handle him.”

“I’m not going to fight, Su,” Kuvira said, not even bothering to open her eyes. “It’s not like one of you needs to watch my every moment. The bathroom compartment lacks the space.”

Su scowled.

“How about this?” Mako asked, his head vanishing back into the corridor, replaced a moment later with a startled White Lotus guard. “Tsu Ying, guard Kuvira for a minute.”

“Right-o, Detective,” the woman said, chuckling as he shoved her through the door. She smoothed her expression quickly, giving Suyin a cordial half bow. “Lady Beifong.”

Suyin stood still, her eyes shifting back to Kuvira. The deposed dictator’s eyes were slits, watching her surroundings with cunning interest that belied her relaxed posture.

That familiar heaviness in her heart stirred again. Su had loved Kuvira liked a daughter, only to see the younger woman betray everything she thought they’d both held dear. A crusade started to spread the glory and stability Su had created—that Kuvira had _helped_ create—in Zaofu became a campaign, became conquest.

“Either kill me, knock me out, or go talk to the man,” Kuvira said. “Spare us your indecision.”

Scowling, Suyin stood, gliding past the guard and into the hallway. “What is it, Mako?”

Mako glanced over his shoulder at an older man in a scruffy robe. “So, apparently the Red Lotus runs Lao.”

Her fingers covered a small gasp. “What… you’ll need to back up a little further on this one.”

“Red Lotus don’t _run_ Lao,” the man said behind him. “Nobody _runs_ us. We run ourselves. Names Torru by the way, ma’am.”

“Suyin.” She shook his hand warily, glancing too long at the insignia on his robe. “And that’s nonsense. You must have some form of government, some leadership.”

“Everybody shares everything. Everybody says their piece. We help each other when someone needs it, scold people that need scolding.” He shrugs. “No need to make things complicated, like everywhere else.”

Su turned to Mako, who looked as baffled as she felt. “And… the Red Lotus told you to do this?”

“Like I _said_ , nobody told us nothing. The Earth Queen falling, that’s the best thing that ever happened to Lao. When we heard who did it, heard he said we had our freedom back, well, we thought he meant it. And now we mean to keep it.”

“You’re not members of the Red Lotus,” Suyin said. “You’re _inspired_ by them.”

“That’s right.”

Again, Mako mirrored the shift in her emotion—baffled turned to nauseous. “Well clearly you never met the man.”

“Never claimed I did.” Torru groaned, leaning on the wall and flexing one knee. “I did say I need to sit though, and I meant it. There room in here?”

Suyin glanced at the door. Kuvira had worked for years to impose order on the anarchy Zaheer had created. This Torru’s state had cast that aside at the first opportunity, preferring to live under Zaheer’s banner.

There was no way the two of them should be in the same compartment.

“We have to take him somewhere else.”

“Where?” Mako asked.

Suyin smirked. “I know a certain former prince who has a sleeping compartment all to himself.”

Mako hung his head. “Yeah, okay. I guess that works.” He sighed, stepping away. “Just ignore any shrieks you hear from his room in the next few minutes. That’s how he wakes up.”

“He wake up with you often?” Suyin asked?

“N-no. He just shrieks a lot. You know what, I’m just going to go.”

 

***

 

“You know,” Bolin said, “I always remembered these sewers as having the worst smell in the world. But then I got to travel a lot, first looking for the airbenders, then with Kuvira. Foggy-Bottom Swamp, the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. But you know what? My good ol’ hometown sewer still takes the prize in the awful smell category.”  

“You realize this is supposed to be a stealth mission, right?” Korra asked.

“Right, right.”

They crept forward, following Korra’s seismic sense and her Avatar instinct. It was slow going in the darkness, but Korra didn’t want to give themselves away with firebending. “They’ve got a few earthbenders, at least. Tunneling up into the shops.”

“What jerks! Are we close? I want to clobber these guys.”

“You and me both,” Korra breathed. They reached a corner, and heard voices drift down the tunnel toward them. Light flickers reflected dimly off the wall. She pressed a finger to her lips, smacking the stone wall to fell what she could up ahead. “Eight of them. Looks like they have some waterbenders too, to help sled around their loot. Firebenders for light, I’m guessing.”

“Triple Threats,” Bolin said, cracking his knuckles.

Korra groaned. “Was kinda hoping they were done for good after that Hundun thing.”

“The what now?”

“Never mind, it’s not important.”

“Alright. Then what are we waiting for? Don’t you want to rush in there, bust some heads?”

That did rather sound like a thing Korra would say. She _did_ feel rather awesome when she brushed opposition aside like that, and more likely than not, she and Bolin would be able to sweep these jokers aside with relative ease.

But how many times had she rushed into a fight, cocky and arrogant, only to find herself surprised, outmaneuvered, outmatched? She’d gotten herself hurt or captured how many times because of it?

“How’s your seismic sense, Bolin?”

“Yeah, I don’t have that.”

“Not even as an honorary Beifong? Oh well, can’t learn it now.” Korra kept her palm pressed against the wall, observing their movements for several minutes as Bolin became more squirmy with impatience.

Two benders were hefting stone platforms up and down a hole in the sewer ceiling. Somebody had to be in the store up above, loading it up. Down here, four people were physically moving the crates the earthbenders brought down onto a cart. The last two people stood at ease, though judging by the way they held their weight, they each kept an arm held away from them. Firebenders.

“Since when can _you_ use seismic sense?” Bolin asked.

Korra shrugged. “Taught myself while I was recovering. Don’t have to use it too often, but sometimes it’s useful. And I wasn’t moving around a lot at the time.”

“Hmf. Well I’m not gonna teach you lavabending. You’ve got everything else awesome, let me keep my one thing.”

She stepped away from the wall, turning to her friend. “Okay, Mr. Awesome. I’m gonna turn the water on the floor into steam in one go, to blind them. You take out any torches they might have, then focus on the two firebenders.”

“Why them?”

“You’ll still be able to see them. Because of the firebending.”

“Right. Right.”

“I’ll split up the rest. Divide and conquer.”

“Split up, how? Isn’t it a small room?”

Korra stifled a smirk, and put a hand on his shoulder to guide him. “C’mon.”

 

***

 

Tsu Ying stood at parade rest by the door. Her two fellow guards remained relaxed on each side of their charge. Kuvira. The ‘Great Uniter.’ The woman who had crushed a disintegrating nation back together. She’d bullied, compelled, or conquered anything that got in her way, and the world had been more than happy to let her do it until she’d turned outward. Who knew how many people had died, resisting her, or in her ‘reeducation camps’? Who knew how long it would take to repair the damage she’d done to the world?

And who knew she had a mole beneath her right eye? Or a beauty mark, rather. That’s what pretty women got to call them. She’d seen pictures of the woman in the papers before, but she’d never noticed that. It softened her severity somewhat, made her look human.

That was the last thing Tsu Ying wanted. She’d wanted Kuvira to be a monster, disfigured and hideous and… not someone with a face to be jealous of.

Why shouldn’t the greatest warlord since the end of the Hundred Year War be pretty? And tall, and a powerful bender—well of course she was a bender. Nobody ever won battles without bending.

But here she was, bound and powerless. And here Tsu Ying was, maybe not as pretty, certainly not as tall, definitely not a bender—but free to walk out that door.

Funny old world, wasn’t it?

Suyin Beifong stepped back into the compartment. There was another handsome woman, a great leader. Another bender. Always, it was benders. She favored Tsu Ying with a smile. “Thank you. I can take over from here.”

“Oh,” Tsu Ying said dumbly. She hadn’t expected to be so readily dismissed. But then again, she always had been.

“Did you want to ask something?” Kuvira asked.

Tsu Ying froze. Was she supposed to respond? Was she allowed to?

“You hesitate to leave,” Kuvira continued, opening her eyes. “Do you have some reason you wish to stay here? Other than the obvious.”

Obvious? Tsu Ying blanched. “What do you mean?”

Kuvira stared into her, assessing. Then and there, Tsu Ying realized how wrong she’d been. Kuvira hadn’t risen to power because she was a bender. That was merely a weapon she’d used. The strength behind those eyes, the cunning…

She was standing. She was free. She was armed. And yet, her heart pounded like she was under attack. How had a _glance_ made her feel unsafe?

A train full of guards no longer seemed excessive.

“Yes, what _do_ you mean, Kuvira?” Suyin asked, leaning back into her seat. “If you’re finally going to break your silence, at least do us the courtesy of making sense.”

“Perhaps not so obvious to some,” Kuvira said, moving her stoic gaze to Suyin. “The monotony. I was a guard myself long enough to know how much that can grind away at you.”

And there she was, acting human again. How did Mako handle sitting across from the woman all day?

“You never did understand that though,” Kuvira continued. “You worked, yes, you were busy all the time, but only doing things you wished to do. You never had a tedious duty, a tiresome, workaday life that you had to make the most of.” She chuckled to herself, an unnervingly mirthless sound. “I should have realized it, even then. You claimed to champion equality and everyone achieving their potential, but you’ve never held an honest job in your life, have you?”

Tsu Ying expected a venomous response, but Suyin had her arms folded, unimpressed. “Is this where you blame all your ills on me again? I would say that raising five children while overseeing a growing city are both about as honest of jobs as any woman could hope for. The trick was, I never lost myself in either. When did you lose your way, I wonder?”

She had been dismissed, but now, leaving would only draw attention to herself, and these were two women Tsu Ying had no desire to be noticed by.

Mako chose that moment to finally return, the gallant hero without realizing it. A role he seemed to excel in. “The representative is all settled,” he said, glancing at Suyin then settling his eyes on her. “As for the guards, hard to say.”

Kuvira hummed thoughtfully at that.

“I should go report this,” Tsu Ying said, nodding to Mako. She dreaded the report, but she didn’t want to spend another second in this car. “Let me know how it turns out,” she said, making an orderly retreat.

It took a few cars before she fully regained her composure, though she didn’t let it show.

“You look like you’ve seen your own ghost,” her duty partner, Shu, chuckled as she passed.

She didn’t think she let it show, at least. “Shut up.”

“That’s what you get for chasing boys while on duty.”

Tsu Ying ignored his suggestive wink. The elbow nudges were harder to avoid.

She sighed. “This trip will be the end of me.”

 

***

 

Korra’s hand tightened on his shoulder as they slunk up to the last corner. They were just a few feet away—lucky positioning, or maybe the bad guys were just careless and arrogant.

Not like the new, improved Korra. When had she started strategizing? Good thing she had, because this was going to be as one-sided as when Bolin played Asami at Pai Sho. Only he was on Asami’s side this time. Which was where Korra preferred to be and this whole line of thought was getting weird.

The Avatar took a deep breath, met his eyes in the flickering light. She nodded, and they rushed.

Bolin already had clumps of earth hewn from the walls sailing at the firebenders’ heads, two more lobbed at the stand torches by the walls. Mist leapt from the floor in a _whump_ before his shots hit, and then for a moment it was hazy darkness, flashes, and noise.

“Who’s there?!”

“We’re being attAAH!”

“Pips! Pips I can’t see!”

A gust of airbending nearly knocked Bolin from his feet, but he kept moving, navigating by memory and the flashes of firebending. Only one of the shadowed forms was wearing a pelt around her waist—the rest he lobbed stone at, cracked the ground beneath them.

Two voices shouted as they passed up and through the ceiling, then a rumble of earthbending cut the sound off. Bolin yelped and leapt back as his skin crackled, but it wasn’t a firebending attack—all the mist and moisture from the air had just been pulled away.

He pushed that from his mind, feet constantly moving, listening for footsteps. The Triads all wore hard boots, easy to tell apart from Korra’s leather. Two steps to his side. Rockslide toward it, then groans.

“Pips!” someone whispered, and he sent a missile to it. Too slow—he heard it shatter against the wall.

Flame erupted from a few feet in front of him, the two firebenders back to back and sending out jet after jet. As soon as they saw him, they pressed their attack, flame at all sides.

Years of reflexes from training with Mako made the counter easy. Hunks of rock floated up to block the gouts, then sailed at his assailants en masse. They spun and ducked out of the way, but weren’t ready for the ground to go sideways beneath them.

Bolin bent the sewer floor over the top of them, pinning one, but the other rolled away just in time. Not a sanctioned pro-bending move, but he’d branched out since then.

The smile forming on his face vanished as a flame-kick sliced inches from his face. Bolin backpedaled, but the firebender kept on the attack, gout after gout at Bolin’s feet. Flame blades appeared in the other bender’s hands, slicing toward his chest. A quick, almost panicked move brought an earth shield out of the wall just in time.

“Whatsa matter?” the criminal taunted. “Can’t stand the heat?”

“Oh,” Bolin breathed, the stone beginning to glow in front of him. “I can stand the heat just fine.”

The earth shield splattered apart into a shower of lava globules, hot enough to show the look of shock on the firebender’s face. He leapt to the side, but his leg and arm got clipped, sending him shrieking to the ground.

Bolin trapped him in regular, non-molten earth, flinging any lava that had hit the man away. He was caught and burned, no need to kill him. The other firebender was still trapped. Good.

He pivoted, ready to take on a waterbender. But there was nobody. Just groans. Hesitantly, Bolin gathered some loose stone and lavabent himself a light.

Two men and two women were slumped in the walls, pipes and stone holding every limb tight. One of the men was dangling from the ceiling.

“Woah,” Bolin said, surveying Korra’s handiwork. Where was she, anyway?”

He frowned, glancing the way they’d come in. No way that’s where she went. Then where…

Bolin looked up, at the hole the gangsters had been looting the building through. A thin hole was carved through a wall of ice, itself butting up against a wall of stone. Korra must’ve shoved the earthbenders up there at the start!

Just as Bolin was about to bend himself a pillar and join her, she leapt back down, a small whirlwind cushioning her landing. She squinted, glancing around the dimly-lit room. “Good work, Bo!”

“Good work? I took down two of them! You got _six_!”

“Eight, actually,” she said. “There were two more up top. I left them to cool off.”

“Yeah, I bet they were mad, getting beat like that. Wait, that was an ice pun, wasn’t it?”

Korra crossed her arms, grinning. “Sure was. I called the cops from the store’s phone. There _may_ be a little property damage, but a lot less than if everything got stolen. Think you can handle it from here?”

“Um… I’d rather handle it from up there, but why? Are you going somewhere?”

“If… that’s okay,” she asked, sheepish all of a sudden. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“What, for catching bad guys? You think Lin will be mad we didn’t leave this to her?”

“Now that you mention it, she probably will. But no. I um… don’t want to get in trouble with my girlfriend.”

Silence stretched between them. One of the captive gangsters coughed.

“That… is… _awesome_!” Bolin said, grabbing Korra’s hands and bouncing up and down before bringing her into a hug. “You know, I never would have guessed it, but Opal said she was suspicious before and she convinced me that maybe—”

Korra laughed, pushing gently as his shoulders. “Easy, Bo. We’ll talk about it later, okay? I really aught to go.”

“Yeah, sure! Go get ‘er, Korra!” He swung his fist in front of him.

The Avatar rolled her eyes, and airbent herself back up out of the sewer, leaving Bolin with ten prisoners and his grin.

Korra and Asami. His two best lady-friends, wound up being more than friends. The weird thing was how weird it _wasn’t._ He might have been more shocked if Opal hadn’t opened his eyes to the idea, but still, both of them being like that… turned out not to matter. He’d seen how they looked at each other. Heck, it definitely felt better than the two of them bouncing Mako between them.

Bolin whistled, the sound echoing through the sewers. _That_ conversation was not going to be a fun one.

 

***

 

Asami groaned awake, her head pounding against her arms, curled up on her desk. The second time she’s slept in two days, neither of time in a bed. Neither time with Korra.

She glanced at the telephone, beside the half-empty liquor bottle. It was close to dawn outside, and nobody had called.

Korra must be in trouble.

Asami sobered up real quick at the thought. She dialed Air Temple Island, her hands shaking. It was probably nothing, there was no way Korra would have gone through everything just to get hurt again _now_. No way she was unconscious and bleeding in a ditch, or eaten by another angry spirit, or—

“Air Temple Island,” Jinora answered.

“Jinora!” Asami breathed. “Did Korra ever show up? She was going to call, and—”

“I know,” Jinora answered, sounding worried herself. “Mom set up a watch. We haven’t heard anything.”

Her throat went dry. “Thank you.” She hung up, too sick inside for courtesy. What was she going to do? How was she—

Well she wasn’t going to fall apart. There was nothing in Republic City she and the Avatar couldn’t handle. Whatever it was Korra ran afoul of, Asami was going to find her and rescue her from it. That was that.

Asami took a woozy step, then paused to steady herself. Had she really drank… that was hours ago. Whatever edge she’d taken off had come back in full force, pounding in her head.

She ignored it, her steps growing steadier. She put on a coat, gathered her keys. Korra was out there. Somewhere. She’d stop by the police first, see if Lin had heard anything. Yes. A city-wide search if need be.

The engineer stepped into her garage, frowning. The outer door was already open, casting her roadster in grey silhouette. She was certain she’d closed it last night, how…

She took a few steps out to investigate, and felt things warring inside her. Confusion. Relief. Anger. Embarrassment.

Korra was asleep in the back of her car. Legs scrunched up, one arm flopped against her chest, one dangling onto the floor.

“You idiot,” Asami laughed, covering her mouth, not sure which of them she meant. "Let's get you inside."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a couple plot threads this time, but everybody else fell asleep, so... hah. It also felt like I needed an action beat in there. The show took care to have an interesting and dynamic fight in each episode; it was also a visual medium that is well served by that sort of thing. I'm not going to hold to any sort of quota system on action, but I'll try to include some occasionally. It just wouldn't feel quite like Avatar otherwise. 
> 
> There will be more Asami next chapter. Also fluff. Also, plot. These are all good things which I hope you are enjoying. Yes, the setup may be slow burn, but honestly most books of the show took half a season before the Krew actually started working against the antagonist; there are pieces to get into place and, not to put too fine a point on it, Korra and Asami need some chances to be sweet before things start to sour. 
> 
> Also remember: comments are my sustenance. I derive nutrients from them, without which I may expire. (Why yes, I was just typing some Eska POV for a later chapter. I really should not go to bed with Eska in my head.)


	4. Echoes

  _The second day of their trip, they remained where they'd camped the first night. They'd silently agreed that making out was a far higher priority than anything else the Spirit World had to offer. Their lips had three years’ worth of sighs to make up for. They went to bed exhausted and happy, but confident in the realization they had plenty of time, no need to rush._

_The third day, they returned to traveling. Korra kept Asami's hand in her own, and Asami finally seemed to realize they were in a whole other world. Her sketchbook came out. She took notes. Soil samples and leaves—once, with the permission of the bush she pulled the leaf from. Every time Korra got her attention, Asami smiled. Everywhere they walked, it was hand-in-hand. But Asami felt... distracted. Hair wafted into her lips as she took notes, graphite dust smeared on her cheek. Even when they had a whole world to themselves, Asami was off in another of her own. It was kinda cute._

_The fourth day, it became a problem. Asami would run off to investigate every little thing. Measuring wind patterns, estimating cloud elevation, measuring the angles of shadows. Korra knew Asami was_ _inquisitive, she loved watching her solve problems, but couldn't they be wrangling dragon-birds, tracking down Iroh for tea, having all sorts of adventures? Not..._

“ _What are you doing now?” Korra asked, as Asami was crouched, folding a piece of paper from her notebook around a ruler. Which she had, for some reason, packed. A ruler._

_Asami frowned as she pressed a crease. “Trying to rig a sextant. I didn't think to bring surveying equipment, but I want to know how tall that mountain over there is. The way elevation here changes feels strange, I was thinking maybe—”_

“ _Hold on hold on.” Korra knelt, taking hold of Asami's wrists. “This is getting crazy, Asami. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves!”_

“ _It's just a few measurements,” Asami chuckled. “I'd kick myself later if I didn't get_ some _data.”_

“ _Sure, fine, but that's... That's like all you're doing!” She hadn’t meant it to sound like a pout._

_Asami leaned forward, pecking the tip of Korra's nose. “I'm sorry. You're right. But if you wanted my undivided attention, maybe we should've gone somewhere less...” Asami looked around, as if the Spirit World would provide her the word she was looking for. “Novel?”_

_Korra leaned forward to kiss her properly. “This isn't novel enough?”_

_Asami purred into her lips, and they spent the rest of the day in that spot. Exploring._

_But Asami was back inside her notebook when Korra woke up the next day. She wasn't even taking it out of her backpack—it lived in her hand, just waiting for her next observation._

_Finally, when Asami stopped to sketch a paw print on the ground, Korra earthbent herself a seat and sat in a huff. “Okay, 'sami. What's up with you?”_

“ _What...” she looked at the book. “Did I do it again?”_

“ _All. Day. What use is a paw print to you, anyway?”_

“ _I could estimate the size and weight of—”_

_Korra held up her hands. “I'm sure you could get all sorts of stuff out of it, but what is it for? I know you're super smart, I love that, but you can usually turn it off! This is supposed to be a vacation, but you spend all your time with your brow all furrowed and thinky like you're trying to rebuild a mecha-tank with only half the parts.”_

_Asami sighed. “Care to bend me some sitting room, too?”_

_The Avatar bent more width to her seat with a twitch of her shoulder. Asami sat carefully, hands pressed flat against the stone behind her._

“ _It's… you realize, this_ is _fun for me. Learning things. Investigating. Figuring out how things work. Besides, with the spirit portal now, Republic City will need even more care to integrate spirits into how it’s built.”_

_Korra crossed her arms, not buying it. “Uh huh.”_

_Asami leaned forward, clasping Korra’s hands between hers. “And I’m sorry for not paying more attention to you. Just… my mind likes to stay busy. There’s always so much to get done, that I sort of try to do everything at once, sometimes.”_

_She was a workaholic, Korra had to grant that. “Before, when we were tracking the airbenders? You spent all that time, training with me, talking with me. You never set down the airship to take measurements of the Earth Kingdom.”_

_The taller woman nodded slightly. “That was a good time, Korra. Until… it wasn’t.”_

“ _Until it wasn’t,” Korra agreed. “Point is, I don’t think it’s about the measurements. You’re probably logging everything you see in that flawless brain of yours to unpack later anyway.”_

_Asami chuckled. “It’s… I dunno Korra. You’re right, I do feel… off. I spent the whole last week getting everything in order so I could spend this time with you—in as much order as I could at least—but now… what am I doing?”_

“ _That’s sort of what I’m asking.”_

_She sighed, scooching away so she could rest her head on Korra’s shoulder. “I guess… it’s just… it’s easier to be distracted.”_

“ _Easier than what?”_

_Black hair shifted as her head shook. “Easier than_ not _being distracted. I...”_

_Korra squeezed Asami’s hand._

_Asami closed her eyes. “If I... I can't...”_

_It clicked. Korra could have kicked herself for not seeing it days ago. A single hug and a single tear couldn’t have been enough. She smiled sadly, shifting to face Asami slightly so she could wrap an arm around her. Her other hand stayed wrapped in Asami’s.“When something’s bad in your life, you run and hide in your own head. Trust me, I know how that is. It’s a desolate place.”_

“ _My head is desolate?”_

“ _No, not your head! I meant, emotionally. I spent three years there.” Asami winced at that. Korra squeezed her shoulder, bringing her closer. “I just… I remember how quiet you got, when the whole Equalist thing was happening. Your smiles went away, you were always staring off, thinking.”_

_Asami sniffed. Korra paused. Should she stop? Was she pushing too hard?_

“ _I was… everything was just so out of control. My whole world collapsed, everything I knew… Everything I_ thought _I knew…”_

_Korra nodded._

“ _But it’s not like I threw myself into projects and ignored everyone. I sobbed myself to sleep at night, but I was right there, fighting with you. Then I had a company to rebuild and the trials to deal with and—”_

“ _Generally throwing yourself into anything you could, to claim some sort of control. To fix your own life. The way you held yourself together, it was… I can’t believe how strong you are, sometimes. You know that?”_

“ _I don’t feel strong. It helps, having you here. But…”_

“ _But what?”_

_Asami got quiet, drawing Korra’s hand to her chest. She ducked her head beneath Korra’s chin._

“ _You can say it, Asami.”_

“ _I just keep seeing it, again and again.” Asami's voice was strained. “That metal hand smashing down and just... even after everything, we'd just started to... And he’s just_ gone _, and I can’t fight that, I can’t fix it, I can’t rebuild a_ person. _I just… I just…”_

_Korra sniffed. “Asami, if you don't start crying soon, I will.”_

_Asami laughed, once. Then the sobs came._

 

***

 

Korra drifted gently into consciousness, warm and relaxed and cozy. Then, all at once, she was startled by her own comfort—she hadn’t slept on a mattress in months—and jerked fully awake.

She was in a bed. A big bed. A big, soft bed. How was it this soft? And how was she _in_ it?

Asami’s mansion. She was in… she’d ridden Naga to the estate, but couldn’t get her over the fence without destroying it, so she’d snuck in herself and saw Asami in the one lit room, asleep on the table, and she’d felt awful but she didn’t want to wake her up so she’d gone somewhere to wait where she knew Asami would find her, and maybe she’d closed her eyes for a second, and…

And Asami must have found her. There were a few foggy memories of being half-guided, half-carried out of the car, but Korra must’ve been totally out of it.

The Avatar flopped back onto the bed, smashing her face between two pillows and groaning at her own awkward stupidity. She’d come to apologize, messed that up too.

Asami had responded by carrying her inside and tucking her into bed.

“I don’t deserve this woman,” Korra said to the ceiling.

The ceiling gave no reply.

Her stomach, however, had something forceful to say. Korra got up, found her boots waiting by the foot of the bed, her pelt neatly folded and set on a table. As she rose to pick them up, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, then backed up to look closer.

A glaring crimson pair of lips glistened on her forehead. She snorted, chuckling to herself as she pulled herself together.

She did not deserve this perfect woman.

But probably, nobody else in the world did either. If she ever met somebody that did, she’d be sure to scare them off.

A piece of paper fluttered to the floor as she picked up her pelt. She blinked, read it, and snorted.

“Korra,” she read aloud, “the door is locked. Please don’t break it. There is a phone by the bed. Call me to find out where I hid the key.” Well that was one way to get an explanation out of her.

She sat back on the bed, rubbing the lipstick off her forehead as she put in the number.

“Asami Sato,” it finally answered.

Had it really been barely a day since she’d heard that voice? She felt all fluttery. “I love you.”

“May I ask who’s calling?” Asami asked.

Korra rolled her eyes. “Okay, to be fair, I said I’d call when I got home. I got caught up in something and was up really late.”

“Mhm,” Asami said, her town terse, papers ruffling behind her voice.

Korra frowned. “Wait, are you actually mad, or just busy, or—”

Asami snickered. “Damn, couldn’t hold back anymore. No, I’m actually over here waving paper around theatrically. Had you scared for a minute, though.”

“Don’t do that!” Korra said, her own relief laughing out.

“Yeah, well don’t disappear when I expect to hear from you! I was ready to call up the army to sweep the city!”

She didn’t doubt it. “Sorry! Bolin caught up with me, said he had a lead on some gangs looting the downtown shops while nobody’s looking. Took us a while to find them, but we did. One bunch, anyway.”

“Oh. Okay, that’s a pretty worthwhile use of time. You still could have called me _before_ you went out. Maybe brought me along?”

Korra grunted noncommittally.

“How’d you track them down, anyway? That spirit-tracking thing you did to find Wu?”

“Yeah.” Korra lay back on the bed, receiver pressed to her ear, luxuriating in Asami’s voice. “Took me a few hours to think of it, though. In my defense, I was exhausted.”

“So I gathered. I’m guessing that’s why it didn’t occur to you to meet up with Lin, and let a squad of her metalbenders take care of it?”

Korra smacked her forehead, right where Asami had kissed it. “Yeah, that would have been the better idea, wouldn’t it?”

Asami sighed. “What _am_ I going to do with you, Korra?”

“Whatever you want to,” Korra purred.

She was rewarded with a cough from the other side of the line. “Oh. Dear. You realize you have me blushing in an office I’m sharing with three people right now, right?”

“Well, I’m still all alone in the bed you plopped me down in,” Korra said.

“Oh, right! The key! It’s behind the landscape painting.”

Korra metalbent it to her hand without getting up. “Got it. So you’ve got other people in the office with you, and you were flapping paper around a minute ago?”

“Yeah. Which meant they were still looking at me weird when I turned as red as my wardrobe. So thanks for that.”

“Don’t mention it.”

They’d arrived at that point, again. That comfortable uncomfortable silence, where they had to either surgically remove themselves from the conversation, or remain in it for hours.

Asami recognized it too. “Anyway, Korra, keep this number on you. I should either be here or at home when I’m not en route from one to the other. Or at a meeting. Or on a job site. Or… just keep it on you.”

“I will. And I’ll check in before any more adventures.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Asami sighed on her end.

“I did say I love you, right?” Korra asked.

“I didn’t even have to drag it out of you, like I did… _other_ people.”

Korra rolled her eyes. “I was feeling it. I said it.”

“Well.”

 

***

 

“Well,” Asami said, dumbly. The telephone cord was wrapped around her finger, her chair turned as much as she could away from Zhu Li and their currently-mutual assistant, Tenni.

This pause wasn’t like the other one. She knew what she had to say. She’d just made fun of Mako for how much trouble he’d had saying it. She’d been thinking it for years. Why was it she was choking on it now?

“Korra…” she began.

The other woman laughed weakly. “S’alright, Asami. I should probably let you get—”

“I love you!” she shouted in one rushed breath, nearly rising out of her chair as if she could reach through and grab Korra’s hand. “I don’t know why I hesitated spirits Korra don’t hang up!”

The Avatar snickered. “Well alright then.”

Asami slumped back in her chair. Maybe Mako’s hesitation made more sense now. “Sorry. I panicked.”

Korra snickered more. “Sounds like.”

“I love you though.”

“Love you too.”

Her eyes closed, and for a moment, she just basked in that.

“So I guess everybody in your office knows, now.”

She groaned, her eyes still closed. “I’m guessing Bolin does, too?”

“Yeah. I slipped. So much for keeping it on the down-low, eh?”

Asami pinched the bridge of her nose. She might need to prepare a chart to keep track of who knew, who’d likely figured it out, and how supportive (or not) they might be. All their friends were good people, but… best to be prepared. “Listen, I’d better go. I’m coming to the Air Temple for dinner tonight though, to make up for lunch.”

“Great!”

“So… I guess I’ll see you then.”

“And I’ll even be awake. Love you.”

It came easier this time. “Love you too.” Still new. Still scary. But easier. “Bye.”

She leaned forward, her arm slow to set the receiver back in its cradle, her fingers lingering on it afterwards. Two sets of snickering eyes stared at her.

Asami glared at them both. “Something to say?”

“Not at thing, Ma’am,” Zhu Li replied with a hint of a smirk.

Part of Asami missed the heartless war machine Varrick had named his battleship after. Now that she was recognized as his partner and equal, she’d grown quite a bit of sass.

“Tenni?”

“Updates on the cargo transshipment,” she said, her tone businesslike, but a sparkle in her eyes.

Asami rolled hers, accepting the papers. “Good. Any news on getting my workers from the harbor facility?” Future Industries Tower had been the most catastrophic loss of the day—other than her father—but the factory where they’d been building the hummingbird suits would have been a big hit by itself.

“That section of the port isn’t scheduled for reclamation for another five weeks.”

“I don’t need them at the port,” Asami said. “I don’t even need them at the city center. There’s an entire industrial factory in mothballs, literally in my own backyard.”

“The Equalist facility?” Zhu Li asked.

Asami nodded. “Distasteful as I might find its past, I can’t overlook any resources. There’s generators, presses, foundries, loading docks, airship landing pads… a good week or two of refurbishing and it can be up and running again.”

“An excellent idea, Ma’am,” Zhu Li said. “Do you happen to—”

A bang came from out in the hallway. “Zhu Li!” Varrick shouted. “Help me with the thing!”

She gave Asami a helpless shrug, and excused herself.

“I’m surprised she doesn’t share Varrick’s office,” Asami said.

“Oh, she does,” Tenni said. “This desk is for when she actually wants to get work of her own done. Seldom much original, but she excels at ferreting out and correcting flaws in other people’s work.”

“Can’t imagine where she learned that,” Asami said, taking a sip of tea.

“Mhm,” Tenni agreed. “I got a look at her desk there once—it’s all Varrick’s original ideas, sorted by ‘Varrimazingness.’ I asked her what that meant, and she said ‘the severity of the expected explosion.’”

“Sounds right,” Asami said, turning back to her papers.

“Miss Sato, if I might?”

“Hmm?”

“Using the old factory is a great idea, but that doesn’t solve our lack of a headquarters. We can’t keep using half of Varrick’s building forever.”

“No we can’t,” Asami agreed, searching a list of real estate contacts. “I’ve got an idea for that, too.”

 

***

 

Oogi landed lightly behind the palace, nestled in the dormant caldera that housed the Fire Nation’s ancient capital. Tenzin always appreciated the precision and orderliness of Fire Nation architecture, but found the angles and colors too severe.

“Tenzin,” Fire Lord Izumi said, more an acknowledgment than a greeting. The Fire Nation leader’s personality was a good match for its architecture. “You’re behind schedule.”

“Izumi,” he said with forced warmth. Aang and Zuko had visited often throughout their lives, their children strung along in their wake, so they'd grown up practically as cousins. Yet they’d never really gotten along, and he’d never been able to figure out why. “I never gave an exact arrival time.”

“You gave a departure time, and I know how fast sky bison can move. Perhaps Oogi is getting old.” She turned and strode off.

Tenzin sighed, but did not offer argument as he followed. “It may take a few days for the waterbenders I requested to join us from the Northern Tribe. I’d like to take that time to understand what we’re dealing with. When did the problems start?”

“A few months ago. Around the same time as Kuvira harvested the spirit vines.”

Tenzin stroked his beard. “I see. We had to deal with restive spirits as well, but Korra was able to go into the Spirit World and placate them. Apparently her actions only helped us locally.”

“Very well. Then it should be a simple matter of you entering the Spirit World and doing the same thing.”

Tenzin wasn’t sure if that was a barb, or if Izumi truly didn’t know he was still unable to meditate into the Spirit World. “I would rather get as much information as I can before exploring our options. Nobody has been hurt yet?”

“Not permanently, though we’ve had a few broken limbs and rattled skulls. Mostly they target vehicles and machinery. Tensions are high enough in the factory districts without dark spirits mucking things up.”

“Oh?” The Fire Nation had been stable for generations. Was there more going on?

Izumi sighed. “You are going to keep asking about this. I tell you so that you understand, not so you meddle.”

“I wouldn’t dream of meddling in Fire Nation affairs, Izumi. You know that.”

“Mmm. Regardless. It is a minor matter. Workers in our factories and power plants have begun to protest about working conditions. Demand for power and goods has grown so quickly that it’s been difficult to track how every company does business, other than the profits they make. Which are substantial.”

“Hmm… if the companies make so much, couldn’t they improve conditions?”

Izumi stopped walking, but did not so much as turn an eye toward him. “Tenzin.”

“Asking isn’t meddling, Izumi. Besides, it could be related to the spirit problem. The negative emotions of your workers may be attracting or angering the spirits.”

“Perhaps.” She began walking again. “Something else we can thank your Avatar for?”

“She’s the whole world’s Avatar.”

“Then why isn’t she here?”

His eye twitched. “Because the world is a big place. Korra can’t be everywhere, and she has other concerns at the moment. You said yourself that the spirit attacks have not yet posed a substantial threat.”

“Yet.”

“Exactly. If things get worse, the Avatar will come right away.”

“I’d prefer things not get worse,” Izumi said, turning abruptly to walk through a door. Tenzin hopped to stay on his feet, then turned to follow.

“What are you doing?”

“I was following you.”

“Why?”

Tenzin blinked, and realized she’d never said where they were going. Where she was going. “I assumed you were taking me to my quarters, or to meet with someone about the attacks, or—”

“You know your way about the palace. Your usual room is ready for you. I have work to do. So do you.” She stepped through the door and closed it behind her.

The airbender made a face at the door. “Yes, Izumi. You’re technically correct, as always, Izumi. I’ll get right on that, Izumi…”

He took a moment to center himself. It would not help matters if he was seen shouting at the Fire Lord through a door. Instead, he turned, and did the only thing he really could do:

Get to work.

Just like Izumi wanted.

As usual.

 

***

 

Opal leapt to her feet at the sight of the trio entering the Air Temple. “You guys!” She nearly tackled Asami and Korra both, an arm wrapped around each. “Oh my gosh!”

“Hi, Opal,” Korra said.

“Can’t breathe,” Asami added.

Bolin cleared his throat behind them as Opal let them go. “Hey! I haven’t seen you in three weeks, either!”

“Aww, don’t pout!” Opal said, slinking over to him and giving him a nice, long, not-quite-chaste kiss-but-not-quite-inappropriate kiss.

“Was I pouting?” Bolin grinned once she relinquished custody of his face.

“A little. I missed it though. And we really could’ve used you on our mission. We’d have been done in half the time if we’d had an earthbender to work with.”

“Yeah, but he’d have taken twice as long with you there distracting him,” Korra teased, taking Asami’s hand.

While Opal melted inside, Bolin replied, “You’re one to talk. Asami nearly missed the island because you were batting your eyes at her!”

“I was not!” Korra said. “I had water spray in them.”

“Sure you did. A waterbender. You buying that Opal?”

“Not buying that,” Opal said.

“Yeah we’re not buying that.”

Korra pouted, until Asami kissed her cheek, and Opal really didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Well, I gotta have _something_ in my arsenal,” Korra said. “All she has to do is flip her hair and my heart stops.”

“Korra, you have _plenty_ in your arsenal,” Asami said.

“Okay, okay,” Opal said, holding her hands in front of her. “We _have_ to go on a double date. As soon as there’s a restaurant open again.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Bolin said.

“I guess?” Korra asked, asking Asami with a look. The CEO nodded. “Maybe not right away though. Not before we’ve gone public.”

Opal and Bolin both looked very conspicuously at the couple’s clasped hands.

“You… might not be the best at keeping secrets,” Bolin offered.

Opal rolled her eyes. “If you two want to play coy with the media, that’s fine. They’ll probably make it easy for you. Heck, it might be fun seeing how long it takes them to call it what it is!”

The two other women had looks ranging from skeptical to horrified. “Honestly,” Asami said, “when everything else we do is so public, we’d rather this… you know…”

“…not be,” Korra finished. “At least, not until we’ve got our feet under us, you know? We can’t avoid it forever, but this is still so new.”

“Is it?” Opal asked. “Honestly, when I first met all of you at Zaofu, I thought you two had a thing already.”

Both women perked up. For that matter, so did Bolin. “You did?” all three asked.

Opal giggled. “C’mon, you spent as much time with each other as I did with Bolin, and we _definitely_ had a thing going.”

“Well, sure,” Bolin said. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It did, though.”

“But it didn’t have to! Any two friends could spend time together!”

Opal put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. “Bolin, Bolin… you really need to understand how girls communicate. It’s not just about what we say, but how we say it, and even what we _don’t_ say. You know.”

“Uh huh. Uh huh. Not at all.”

“I’m not sure I do, either,” Korra said. Asami snickered beside her. At least _somebody_ knew what she was talking about!

“Okay, you want an easy one? When you guys came to get me and the other new airbenders, Korra had to be there obviously. Asami provided an airship—must be nice to have a few spares laying around.”

Asami shrugged.

“—you weren’t up to anything, so that was easy. Mako had to be dragged away from his job with the police, and aunt Lin was none to happy about that if I recall. But what was Asami doing there?”

“She had to fly the airship!”

“Of course. Because I’m sure Future Industries didn’t have any other airship captains she could have spared.”

“She was part of Team Avatar,” Korra said. “Why wouldn’t she come?”

“Oh, gee,” Opal said, poking the corner of her mouth. “Let me think. Maybe because she’s the CEO of a huge company that had just come out of bankruptcy, and had a big contract to repair the city after Harmonic Convergence? C’mon, guys! Did it not occur to you that she had more important things to do than ferry you around?”

Korra winced. “Wow. Thanks for reminding me how self-centered I was.”

“Me too,” Asami said. “I mean, I probably still would have come, but logically I shouldn’t have.”

“Then why did you?” Korra asked.

Opal groaned. “Really, Korra?”

Her back straightened, and she stared at Asami. “Really? Back then?”

Asami laughed. “Well it’s not like I fell in love with you in the past month. I wouldn’t say I _realized_ it at the time, but yeah. Back then.”

Opal smiled smugly.

“Wow,” Bolin said. “And here, I thought Asami was the smartest person I know, but you figured all that out before she did!”

“Heh. Well, it’s hard to see it when you’re involved. We’re our own biggest blind spots, after all.”

“Greetings cousin,” a new voice droned. “Turtle duck.”

Opal’s three companions froze in place. Bolin looked like he was shivering as he turned. “H-h-hi, Eska. What are you doing here?”

“I need to parley with your president. With the city still evacuated, there is nowhere for me to stay, so I shall reside here. Is this your new mate? She is significantly smaller than the last one.”

“ _Pardon me?_ ” Opal snapped, rounding on Bolin. “Who _is_ this?”

Bolin wore his guilty shrinking terrified look. “This is Korra’s cousin Eska. She thought Kuvira and I were an item for some reason. Isn’t that funny?” He forced a laugh.

Opal’s eyes narrowed on the newcomer, who looked back with disinterest. “Why would she think that?”

“I assumed anyone Bolin paired with after myself would need to be powerful enough to overcome the impression I left. I’m afraid I may have ruined the poor man for romance.”

Blood thundered between Opal’s ears. She wasn’t a lavabender, but she was about ready to try.

“SO ESKA,” Korra said, butting in, “How’s your brother up at the North Pole, eh?”

“I suspect he is dreadfully bored,” Eska replied, allowing herself to be pulled away.

Asami glanced back at Bolin and Opal as she left with the other two, mouthing ‘let him explain.’ Grudgingly, Opal nodded.

“Hehhh…” Bolin breathed, cowering.

 

***

 

“Well, Eska was dreadful as always,” Korra said as she and Asami took her speedboat back to the mainland. “I’ve never wanted out of an Air Temple dinner faster. Thanks for coming up with that ‘needing to be somewhere before dark’ line.”

“That wasn’t just a line, Korra, but all the same I didn’t want to stick around. I hope Opal isn’t being too hard on Bolin. The guy really didn’t do anything wrong, other than fall for the wrong person.”

Korra nodded, eyes closed, letting the salty air whip through her hair. “Those Beifongs have a temper though. Still, getting Eska away from them was the best I could think of at the time, without risking an international incident. It’s a bit soon for another one of those.”

“I’m sure Raiko agrees. And, hey, bright side: Eska will keep him busy and miserable for us.”

Korra laughed. Asami shared it.

“So,” Korra opened her eyes, lounging in her seat, “where are we going?”

“How high can you get with that glider of yours?” Asami asked.

Weird question. “I dunno. To the clouds, but not to the moon?”

Asami chuckled. “High enough, then.”

Korra leaned forward. “For _what_?”

A mysterious smile was Asami’s only reply.

She crossed her arms. Asami wanted to play coy, apparently. Better to talk about something else than pound her head against a stubborn Sato. “So, you know I’ve been putting buildings together, right?”

“Prodigiously, from what I hear.”

Prod-what now? “Heh. Well, I’ve been working with this spirit frog named Chu. He’s got ideas for how to make the city more spirit-friendly, from the foundation up.”

Asami’s face brightened. “Oh! Korra, you _have_ to introduce me! I’ve never been able to get a spirit directly interested before, his input could be invaluable!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Korra said. “There’s probably a _few_ details you left out of that little notebook, after all.”

They got the speedboat docked and secured, then continued bantering as she drove them into the city. “You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“It’ll be easier to explain when we get there,” Asami said, pulling the car over in one of the less-damaged blocks close to the ruined city center. “Especially since we’re here now.”

“Great! Here!” Korra said, hopping out of the car and looking around the empty street. “I’ve sure always wanted to visit here.”

Asami produced a key from her coat, letting herself into one of the skyscrapers. “I had a visit with some real-estate people today. Tough to track them down, out in the evacuation camps.”

“I bet. We really need to get people back into the city, even if it’s just the outskirts.”

“Oh, you’ve got my vote on that. But Raiko doesn’t think it would be ‘fair.’ I think he just likes being in control. C’mon, the power’s still out and we’ve got a million stairs to climb before sunset.”

Like the rest of the city, the building was uncomfortably quiet, but judging by its own merits, it was a very pretty quiet. Steel and glass were the primary elements, towering windows letting the light flow in. The décor was almost a deliberate counterpoint—walked-on carpets and plush wooden furniture, blurry stylish paintings of random nature scenes on the walls.

“So, this is gonna be Future Industries new headquarters?” Korra asked as they huffed up the stairs, switchbacking along the inner wall by the elevators.

“Not exactly,” Asami replied, offering no further explanation.

Even in as good a shape as Korra was in, twenty flights of stairs was no joke. Asami took it in stride—but then, she hadn’t spent the whole day physically rebuilding the city.

Asami followed a few signs, and Korra followed Asami. Another key in another door, and they stepped into an empty suite.

“This is what I bought,” Asami said.

“Pretty small, for a headquarters.”

“It would be, yes. Which is why I’m going to use my estate for that instead.”

Wait, what? “Your estate? You mean your mansion?”

“Yes. My personal mansion, that I live in, alone.”

“Mako and Bolin’s family lives there.”

“Their family lives there because it was big and empty and _useless_. Honestly, as soon as I had this idea, I wish I’d done it years ago. So many of my memories there are bittersweet… this will be better.”

“Why? Because you won’t have to commute to work?”

Asami rolled her eyes, grabbed her shoulders, and turned Korra toward the window, toward the sun setting behind the glow of the spirit portal.

“Because _this view_ _alone_ makes this apartment worth every yuan.”

“Apartment—you’re going to live here?”

“That’s the idea,” Asami smiled. “Only…”

“Only what?”

Asami cleared her throat, leading Korra by hand through a short hallway, into another room.

“Okay,” the CEO said, “I know the rooms are all empty, but try to visualize with me here.”

Korra nodded.

Asami pointed at one wall. “Bed.”

“Important.”

“ _Large_ bed.”

“Enticing.”

Asami smirked, pointing at another wall. “My wardrobe.”

Korra pointed at the adjacent wall. “The rest of your wardrobe?”

“No.”

“Your shoes?”

Asami shook her head, moving behind Korra, sliding an arm along hers to point at the same wall. “ _Your_ wardrobe.”

Korra swallowed, Her breath came out ragged.

“…if you want it,” Asami added. “I know it’s sudden, but…”

Trembling, Korra turned, taking one of Asami’s hands in hers. She needed her other hand to point. “Bed?”

Asami nodded.

Korra pointed toward the door. “Shoes.”

Asami quirked an eyebrow.

Korra moved her finger along, another spot on the floor. “Shirts.” Another spot, closer to the bed. “Your dress…”

Asami laughed, slapping Korra lightly on the shoulder, then pulling her into a kiss. “You can’t tease me like that, you know, and not act on it.”

“There’s… not a bed here yet.”

She nibbled Korra’s ear. “We don’t precisely _need_ a bed.”

Korra licked her lips. She was tense, shaking. “Asami…”

Fingers dug into Korra’s scalp. “And there’s no spirits here to interrupt us…”

“Asami.” Unspoken: Stop, I’m not ready.

The engineer sighed, resting her forehead against Korra’s. “Okay. You know I can wait.” Unspoken: I’ve already waited three years. “All the same, there will be space for your things. You could stay the night, whenever you like. Or all the time, if you want.” She put her arms around Korra’s, squeezing her elbows. “I got used to falling asleep with you, in the Spirit World. I find I much prefer it.”

“Good to know I’m more comfortable than a desk,” Korra said.

They held each other a long moment, tension growing between them. Wanting to be closer, holding back.

“Want to go out on the balcony?” Asami finally asked. “Watch the sunset?”

“Of course,” Korra said, walking out with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a brief time-gap after this chapter, during which I've slotted a couple of short stories. They are largely stand-alone, they don't feed in to the plot or pacing of this story, but if you wanna read all my stuff chronologically, then here's [You Realize You’re Drooling On My Shirt](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10363998/) and [Homemaker](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8107990). Both are more sweet fluff :). 
> 
> So, a largely fun fluff chapter, with some setup built in. Gotta maneuver pieces into place. 
> 
> How did Asami lock Korra in the room with the key inside? Hairclip and an insane INT score. Engineering points subbed for Lockpicking. 
> 
> And I must say, Eska is very fun to write.


	5. Let Me Give You Everything

_Asami finished changing, at the same time both satisfied with her foresight in bringing a swimsuit, while secretly wishing she hadn’t. After all, Korra was comfortable enough taking a dip in her bindings and underthings..._

_The engineer blushed at the thought. Korra had been adorably proper about it, earthbending Asami a little changing room_ _and making plenty of noise so Asami knew she wasn’t peeking. She was of two minds about that, too. It wasn’t the first time she was aware somebody was attracted to her—Asami knew she was pretty, and worked hard to remain so. It wasn’t even the first time a woman had been the one stealing looks. And none of them would she have been happy watching her change._

 _But this was_ Korra _._

_Oh, she’d still have been mad if Korra saw her. This all felt too big and important to rush. Yet part of her was eager. Desperate. Well, you’ve seen mine, Avatar, now show me yours…_

_She leaned into the wall, bonking her head against it repeatedly. Stop, Asami. Stop. You’re not like this. You’re dignified. You’re poised. You’re classy._

_“You okay in there?” Korra asked, her voice echoing through the trees._

_Asami cleared her throat. “Yeah, coming right out.” She closed her eyes, took a breath. Dignified. Poised. Classy._

_She stepped out of the earth-hut, saw Korra half-undressed, and tripped immediately._

_Good work, Sato._

_Korra was smirking as Asami regained her balance. “Still can’t believe you brought swimwear. How big is that backpack of yours, anyway?”_

_“I admit, I had to pack efficiently,” Asami said, striding to Korra then following her to the rocky outcropping overlooking the water. “You’re sure this lake is safe?”_

_“Nope!” Korra said, leaping into the air then meteoring right in._

_The resultant wave rose twenty feet high. Asami yelped uselessly, hands covering her head as it drenched her. Dripping already, she toed toward the side, until she saw a smug Avatar grinning from the water below._

_“Dad taught me that one,” she said. “In_ much _colder water, I might add.”_

_“Remind me to thank him,” Asami said flatly, spitting hair from her mouth and shivering._

_Korra laughed. “Well, either get in or get used to me staring at you. At the moment I’m fine with either.”_

_Asami turned, hiding a blush as she gave herself distance from the side. A centering breath, a few long strides, and she arced through the air, pivoting perfectly, entering the water with barely a ripple._

_She loved to swim. It was great exercise, and wonderfully relaxing. She’d taken to water at a young age, and had won a few medals in her boarding school’s swim team. But as practiced and graceful as she was in the water, Korra_ lived _there. The water welcomed her like a long lost friend. Korra won every impromptu race, every dive. Did the woman have to be so great at everything?_

_“No!” Asami laughed as Korra’s paddling hands overwhelmed her own splashing. “Spirits, Korra, you don’t have to keep showing off your Avatar prowess. Give a girl a chance!”_

_“Sorry, ‘sami,” Korra shrugged. “I haven’t been waterbending since I dove in.”_

_Asami regarded her flatly. “Seriously.”_

_“Really!” Korra held up her hands defensively, and sank to her nose with a sputter._

_Asami rolled her eyes, swimming closer. “Which of your parents is an ocean spirit, then?”_

_Korra cooed into the incoming kiss, guiding them toward shallower water where they could keep their feet on the ground. “Swimming has always been a big deal for me. Dad and I bonded over waterbending, but mom mostly knew the traditional healing stuff, and once I had Katara to learn from…” Korra shrugged. “But swimming! Oh, my mom is such a great swimmer, Asami. Dad always joked he needed a boat and a strong wind to catch her. We’d spend hours in the water, chasing otter-seals, diving for arctic shells. Honestly, the first time I could swim again, really swim again after I got hurt, felt better than the first time I ran.”_

_Asami squeezed Korra’s hand beneath the water, resting her head on Korra’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”_

_Korra turned her head toward her, frowning. “Sorry? What for?”_

_“You were all alone down there. I should’ve… I never visited.”_

_“I would have been lousy company,” Korra said, bitterly. “Besides, it’s not like I ever asked.”_

_“Not in words,” Asami said. Certainly not in words. She definitely would have noticed an invitation in the single letter Korra had sent—she read it enough times. “But I knew how alone you were. Knew how much you were hurting. And it hurt me, not being able to… not being_ there _.”_

 _Korra turned away. “How could you have known how alone I was? My parents were_ _with me the whole time, and they didn’t know. Not really.”_

 _“They did,” Asami said. She felt Korra roll her eyes, growing uncomfortable, maybe not believing her. “They_ did _, Korra. I know they did.”_

_Korra scoffed. “How? You’ve only met them a few times. You weren’t there.”_

_Asami took a breath. As much as Korra had never asked her to come, it sounded like she’d wanted it anyway. It would have been so easy to hop on one of her ships… “I wrote you every week, Korra. Sometimes more than once. In all that time with no reply, do you really think I never thought to send a letter to your parents as well? They had the same address, after all.”_

_That got her attention. “You… they never said anything!”_

_“They didn’t know what to say. You kept them at such a distance, Korra. Senna would have done anything to see you happy, to see you better. She even…” Asami took a breath. “She even sort of suggested I come visit.”_

_“She… when?”_

_“Not long before you sent your letter, actually. Not long before you left.”_

_Their hands were still clasped beneath the water, but neither of them seemed to move. Korra stared into the lake, not responding. And what did Asami Sato do when Korra didn’t respond?_

_Kept talking._

_“It wasn’t a direct invitation. It was more of… oh what were her words? ‘Korra really misses you and all her friends,’ in one letter, ‘I saw a Future Industries ship in port,’ randomly thrown into another. She… I don’t think she felt like she could just ask. I would have, if she did. I almost came anyway, Korra, so many times! I’m… I really wish I had. I’m sorry.”_

_“Did… you only keep writing because mom asked you to?”_

_“What? No, Korra, I would’ve written you every week until I was old and gray even if she asked me to_ stop _. But she didn’t know what you wanted, and I certainly didn’t know, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have—”_

_Korra’s hands suddenly clasped the sides of Asami’s head, holding her steady for a forceful, sobbing kiss. She straightened Asami’s hair between snuffling breaths._

_“Are you really…” she choked, “trying to apologize… for being the sweetest, most perfect…”_

_Her voice strained out. Asami ran her hands down Korra’s back, embracing her._

_“Getting all of this… this pain out,” Asami said after a long moment, “we needed this, both of us. But let’s not get in a habit of ending all our days with crying, okay?”_

_Korra laughed, and kissed her hard._

_THAT was a habit she could stand to fall into._

 

***

 

Over his four years in office, President Raiko had overseen titanic transformations within his city. Benders and non-benders living in harmony, and now with spirits alongside. The Air Nation, reborn on his doorstep. The first major international war in seventy years.

“Avatar Korra is here for her appointment,” Raiko’s secretary said from the door.

The Avatar, making an appointment like a normal, respectful human being. Wonders never ceased. “Send her in, please.”

Korra stepped in, giving the secretary a thankful nod. “Mister President.”

“Avatar.” He considered acknowledging her reformed behavior, but thought better of it. No sense rewarding her for showing common decorum. He motioned to the chair across his desk. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Korra plopped down in her chair, sitting forward, elbows on her spread knees. Hardly a ladylike posture. He supposed that shouldn’t be surprising. “First things first: we need to start getting people out of those camps.”

“You’ve done a remarkable job pushing the reconstruction, but you know as well as I that the city is not finished.”

“The city took years to build. People are living in earth-huts and tents. Most of the residential areas are intact. Yes, some people will be stuck out there a while longer, but the rest of the people need to start getting on with their lives.”

Raiko weighed his responses. Telling her he’d already come to the same decision could make her more cooperative, but at the same time, acting like it was a concession could give him leverage. She _had_ struck a conciliatory mood already… No. Leverage always worked better with her. “That might be workable, especially now that the power grid is completely repaired. I will look into it, but it is difficult, with all the political problems on my plate. It may become more practical if you were to help me solve a few of those as well.”

Korra quirked an eyebrow, straightening her back. “You want my help with _political_ problems?”

“Considering who they are with, yes. You may have heard that Chief Eska has paid me a visit?”

In all the time they’d worked together, that comment was the first to earn him a look of sympathy. “Just be happy Desna isn’t here too. Surprising they aren’t together, usually they’re joined at the hip.”

The young Northern chiefs were unsettling, he had to admit. But then, the whole family was unnatural. “Given that the two seem to share the same mind, it makes sense for one to remain in charge at home. Have you not spoken with your cousin yet? In a way, you’re the reason she’s here.”

The Avatar stifled a sigh, preparing to be blamed for something else. “I’ve been back two months, and nothing I’ve done has been related to the Northern Water Tribe.”

“Perhaps not. But you _did_ create another portal to the Spirit World. Northerners have always harbored a strong relationship with the spirits.”

“Oh? I seem to recall you complaining about _that_ ,” Korra said, nodding toward the spirit vine he’d re-arranged his entire office around.

Raiko adjusted his glasses to cover his twitching eyebrow. Wherever his mother was from, he'd never set foot in the Northern Tribe. “Nevertheless, the Spirit World hadn’t seen human visitors for ten thousand years before you opened the portals. The Northerners were already concerned with humans entering the Spirit World, and that was when you had to trek all the way to one of the poles to get there. Now you can reach the Spirit World from the heart of Republic City.”

Korra nodded, thoughtfully. “Asami and I got in a couple of scrapes on our visit, and we were well prepared. It seems like bringing the worlds closer together has to be a good thing, but it _is_ a dangerous place.”

Brazen of her, to bring up that immoral escapade. But he was close to getting what he wanted, now was not the moment to criticize. “It seems that Chief Eska’s concern is more for the Spirit World itself than any human visitors.”

“That _does_ sound like her. Okay, Mister President. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good. As I understand it, her concerns touch on the Southern Tribe’s use of the portal as well, so you’re uniquely suited.”

“How does my dad’s… never mind. I’ll ask Eska. What else? Sounded like there was more than one issue for me?”

“Indeed.” How much of his clout had he expended on that? She’d accepted the charge rather easily. Perhaps a little positive priming? “Happily, the other issue is with someone you get along with rather well: Suyin Beifong.”

“Su? I thought she’d be in Ba Sing Se by now.”

“She’s still held over in Zaofu, waiting for the all-clear from the international peacekeepers in Ba Sing Se. But she’s had enough time in her city to find something to complain about, it seems.” He passed her the note.

Korra scanned it quickly. “So, she wants the platinum from the colossus back.” She looked back at the President. “What’s the problem? It came from Zaofu to begin with.”

Ah, he’d have to wrestle with her on this one. “The problem is, the remains of that metal monstrosity are spoils of war. Rebuilding the city is going to cost an extraordinary amount, and that wreckage could go part of the way towards paying for it. Not to mention the historic value.”

“So, what, you want to keep it as a trophy?” Korra said, crossing her arms. “If that’s your logic, than Mako should get it. He’s the one that nearly died taking it down.”

“Which he did in service to his nation.”

“Which he did because it was the right thing to do!”

Raiko waved that aside. “Regardless. This is a potentially delicate international matter. I would prefer to maintain good relations with Zaofu, and I’m sure Suyin wants the same. We’d be willing to discuss selling some of it back to her, given her help in taking the machine down to begin with, but if she appeals to the international community to press for outright ownership, the United Republic will press right back.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?!”

“That _means_ that we might make an issue of the fact that the warlord who did this to our city was her protégé, and that the Earth Empire army used Zaofu for materials and a base of operations to stage its invasion. That would technically make them the aggressor, and culpable for all the damage we suffered.”

“That’s—that’s not remotely fair! Zaofu was conquered too!”

“Which is why I’d rather it not come to that.”

Korra looked down, pensive. Quite simple to manipulate, really. So long as he goaded her into shouting while keeping his cool, he could make some part of her think she was being unreasonable. Which, often, she was, but convincing her of that was another matter.

“I’m not asking you to negotiate a deal. Simply to explain our position to her. Zaofu is a rich city; as much as it offends Suyin’s sense of aesthetics not to have her domes, when it comes down to it, her city was otherwise unscathed.”

 The Avatar nodded. “Fine, fine. I’ll give her a call. Anything else?”

“I don’t believe so. This has been a very productive meeting, Avatar Korra. I think, perhaps, until the city is back on its feet, we would be well served to meet regularly. Perhaps, once a week?”

She hardly looked thrilled at the idea. “You’re probably right on that. But this is going to be a two-way street. I’m not your errand-girl.”

“Of course not,” Raiko said, noncommittally. “This day and time would work for me. I can contact you at the Air Temple, if I need to reschedule? Or is there an alternate address where you might be reached?”

Her eyes narrowed, confirming what he’d heard. “Any messages sent to the Air Temple will reach me.”

He adjusted his glasses, frowning. It was like his wife had said—women like _that_ are quick to shack up. “Didn’t we agree you’d be discreet?”

He was ready for her anger with a comment upon her age, to undercut her authority for the rest of the encounter. But she closed her eyes and took a breath. “My personal affairs are none of your concern.”

“Aren’t they, though? As you said, we are leaders of this city. We have to set an example.”

“An example. An example of _what_?” 

“Proper, upright behavior. Little girls look up to you, Avatar, and to Miss Sato.”

“I know. So do little boys.”

“Exactly my point!”

Korra started to scowl, cracking her knuckles. “Mister President, may we please shift to a reasonable topic?”

He had her rattled. Good. He removed his glasses, inspecting them casually for smudges. “In a moment. Republic City does a great deal of business with Future Industries. I would hate to see it suffer any trouble from a public outcry against the behavior of its CEO.”

Suddenly, Korra was calm. She smiled. It gave him a chill that had nothing to do with bending. She raised a hand, extending a finger each as she said, “Amon. Tarrlok. Unalaq. Zaheer. Kuvira.”

Raiko put his glasses back on. “What of them?”

“Good question. What of them." She looked at her extended fingers. "Where are they now?”

Two presumed dead, one certainly dead, and two in prison for life.

Korra continued, a dark huskiness to her voice. “And what did they have in common?”

“I don’t appreciate your tone, Ava…”

Her smile widened, and his mouth went dry.

“I came here, for once, giving you all the courtesy your position deserves. I expect the same in return, and so does Asami. But let me make one thing absolutely, completely clear to you. I’m in love with Asami Sato. I’m aware you don’t approve. I don’t care. I don’t need it. But if you do _anything_ to hurt her, if you _ever_ threaten her again..." She extended a finger on her other hand, pointing right into his eyes. "...I will add another name to that list. That’s my line, Raiko.” Her eyes began to glow. “ _Do not cross it_.”

“I… understand, Avatar Korra,” Raiko said, unsure where his control of the conversation had gone so drastically wrong. Her eyes bore into his, radiant, unblinking, implacable. “I will make no further mention of this topic.”

“Then let’s get back to work,” Korra said, eyes back to normal, muscles relaxing, leaning back in her chair. Not caring if she saw, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and swept the sweat from his brow.

 

***

 

“First of all, I would like to thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” Asami said, offering her hand and bowing forward slightly.

The frog spirit glanced at it, then up at her face. “Chu.”

She smiled cordially, letting her hand return to her side. The spirit’s arms _were_ rather short. “I toured the apartment building you helped construct. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. When I led the rebuilding of this city after Harmonic Convergence, I did everything I could to make sure our city’s human needs flowed with and around the spirit vines, trying to create, well, a harmonic convergence of our two worlds. I know most humans I talked to were satisfied with the results.”

“Chu has seen them. It is good that you tried.”

Well. Hardly a glowing endorsement. “Given my experience and connections in the city, I was hoping to do an even better job of it this time. Allow for natural spaces within the city, not simply discrete districts, but integrated throughout. Find ways for humans to travel about and live our lives, without running afoul of spirits running theirs. We’ve spent years in the same city, but it doesn’t feel like we really live _together_. I would like to change that.”

“Chu wonders why you think spirits would like to live together with humans? Even the best of you is known to be stinky.”

Asami was beginning to understand the harried looks from the site foreman. “You’re not the first spirit to speak poorly of humans. Yet so many of you live here now. If we are so distasteful, why do you stay?”

The spirit tilted its froggy head. “This is home. One does not abandon home.”

Interesting. Even before Harmonic Convergence, those spirits that still touched the world did so in very specific places. Were spirits intrinsically tied to a given area? “There sure seem to be a lot more spirits here than there are other places, though. I would have thought, around the poles, in Foggy Bottom swamp, but why here? Was it just Unavaatu’s attack that brought you here?”

“Chu,” Chu scolded. “This is a meeting place.”

Asami waited for further explanation, but Chu acted as if he’d said everything that needed saying.

She affixed her business smile again. “Well, perhaps we can discuss that later. Right now, I wish to understand how you knew how to construct that building. The stone and metal supports and vines intertwine in such a way that the building is far stronger than it would be.” She’d had a few earthbenders simulate an earthquake, and while the building had twisted and contorted in a gut-curdling fashion, not a single flake of stone had come loose. “What principles do you employ?”

Chu shook his head. “You do not understand.”

“That’s right. I wish to understand.”

“Chu!” Was that… irritation? “You _do not_ understand. You feel. The vine does not move where you like it. The vine is.”

Asami was all out of smile to give. “That… I’m afraid that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

Chu threw up his tiny arms. “Chu, Chu. I thought not. I thought, perhaps the chosen of the Avatar would see, but you have no connection to the spirits.”

Great, even spirits knew she and Korra were an item. Controlling that bit of information was an abject failure. “I… I’ve been to the Spirit World.” She pulled out her notebook from the vacation. “I have notes, measurements.”

Chu turned, waddling away. “This is useless. Chu.”

“But… wait!” Asami took a step after him, reaching out weakly, but not sure what to say.

Foreman Wong stepped up to her. “He walked away.”

“That’s… what it looks like. Yes.”

“Please,” Wong said, “tell me how you did that.”

 

***

 

Eska sat in the Air Temple’s radio room, contemplating nothingness. She was neither expecting nor did she intend to radio anyone, but she had nobody she wished to speak to and nothing she wished to do. Were a message to come for her, she would be immediately available.

Besides, the nervous backwards glances from the radio operator were mildly amusing. “Does my presence interfere with your duties?”

“Um, no, your Highness,” the operator replied, turning back to the newspaper in front of her.

It was the most satisfying conversation Eska had had since coming to this sweltering city. A question asked, and answered, superiority clearly defined. Not at all bogged down with needless words or courtesy.

After two hours in which neither spoke a word, Eska decided she would befriend this woman. She had never met another person with whom she could sit in silence for so long with. The times they would have.

“ _There_ you are!” a voice came from the door.

Bolin’s new mate. “This is my location. Is that of some importance?”

“We. Need. To. Talk.”

Eska inspected her sleeve. The woman seemed emotional. How uninteresting. Bolin could elicit such outbursts, even from her. “Have you come from advice regarding your boyfriend? I do not suggest a sudden betrothal. He is a skittish creature.”

Her advise did not calm the woman at all. “Are you going to follow me or not?”

“Follow you? You said you wished to talk. We are talking.”

The airbender held her arms down against her sides. “Radio lady, what’s your name?”

“Somi, miss Opal,” she answered, hunched intently over the newspaper.

“Well, I apologize for how awkward this will be for you, Somi.”

Somi whimpered.

Opal stalked toward Eska. “I talked to Bolin. About your relationship.”

“I apologize for any lingering feelings he might have toward me. But you seem suitably fearsome.”

“Stop. _Talking_!”

“I thought you wished to talk.” Were all continentals so confusing?

“And I want _you_ to listen, you, you… manipulative, mean-spirited, abusive scorpion snake!”

Eska blinked. “You are angered at me.”

“Damned right!” Opal said, stomping even closer. “I talked to Bolin, and Korra, and anyone else who saw how you treated him. He was terrified of you! He still is!”

“Terror is among the strongest of emotions. Strong enough to survive the winter. Is survival not what we want for those we claim as ours?”

“You don’t get to _claim_ other people! He came to you like an innocent puppy calf, and you made him a, a, a toy! A plaything!”

“Should one not derive amusement from one’s romantic partner?”

“Only if both partners are enjoying it!”

“He gave no indication of discomfort.”

“Gave no… gave… no…” Opal was flushed, breathing heavily. “I’ve had to spend two weeks calming myself down, reminding myself I’m an airbender and you’re a guest of my nation. Master Tenzin probably wouldn’t approve of me making a fight out of this.”

A fight? That might be momentarily diverting. Alas, it would be inappropriate to beat up Bolin’s new girlfriend. “I do not understand the purpose of this conversation.”

“The purpose is… You are going to apologize to Bolin.”

Eska quirked her head. “Apologize? For what?”

“For abusing him!”

“I never injured him while we were a couple. Perhaps when he and his brother were trying to stop my father, but he was my enemy at the time.”

Opal swiveled, pacing away with a barely-restrained shout. A moment later, she crossed her arms, looking back over her shoulder at Eska. “Your father. You and your brother no longer support what he did?”

“That is a broad set of actions. If you refer to binding himself to the spirit of darkness and attempting to destroy the world, then you are correct.”

“Yet you supported him at the time.”

“Also correct. We did not understand his full intentions.”

“That’s not it.” Opal turned back toward her. “I asked a _lot_ of questions. Bolin and everyone tried to stop him, and got captured. Korra explained what your father was trying to do. You decided that he was a great man who was still worth supporting.”

Eska looked away, thoughtful. That was one of the few times in her life she had not felt in total synch with her twin. Doubt about her father had begun to creep into her mind, particularly after Unalaq hadn’t cared for Desna’s injury at all, but her brother had been so sure and confident, she had gone along. “Our regard for our father did have a blinding effect on us. When things became more clear—”

“When _sweet selfless Bolin_ professed his love to you, and you caught a glimmer of what it actually _felt_ like, you realized you were fighting for a monster.”

That was… fair. And Desna had gone along with _her_ certainty.

“And then, you broke up with him.” Opal re-crossed her arms, but her narrowed eyes looked curious. “Why?”

She had wondered that herself for some time afterwards. There had been a certain… pleasantness absent from her life, after she and Desna had returned home. Could she not have brought Bolin with her?

“Maybe… Bolin made you realize more than that your father was crazy and evil,” Opal wondered aloud. “Maybe he made you consider your own actions, for the first time?” 

Eska shifted her weight. “This is something I must contemplate, Opal. There may be some credence to what you say.”

“May there,” she replied, flatly.

“However, I will stand by one assertion: as soft as you may look, you are certainly fearsome enough to protect Bolin from his softness.”

Opal blinked, apparently unsure how to feel about that. “I _like_ his softness.”

“As did I. He is a feeble turtle duck, is he not?”

The other woman chuckled, smirking a little. “Yeah.”

“I retain much fondness for him, Opal. I wish both of you well. I will think on what you said.”

“Well. Okay then.” Opal straightened, gave Eska a parting nod, and left.

Silence returned to the radio room, interrupted only by a shift change. Somi bolted from the room as soon as her replacement arrived. Perhaps she had somewhere to be.

 

***

 

Korra pivoted the glider up, landing on a crouch on Asami’s balcony at the end of another long day. She’d worn herself out setting walls and building foundations, bending girders and pipe and wiring into place, often more forcefully than was strictly required. Everybody just assumed it was her brute power at work.

But that wasn’t it. She’d wanted to work up a sweat to wash the taste of the meeting with Raiko from her mind. That’s why she hadn’t contacted Eska or Suyin yet—she may not be a politician, but she was pretty sure aggravated screaming wouldn’t have helped her side.

Asami looked up from her blueprints as Korra slid the glass door open. She gave the Avatar a single look, then turned in her chair to face her. “What’s wrong? Raiko?”

Just one look. How did she do that? “ _Yes_ , Raiko!” Korra threw her glider on the couch, stalking into the room, hands writhing in front of her like she was wringing the president’s wormy little neck.

The engineer’s legs shifted inside her pencil skirt as she crossed them. Her feet were bare, ever-so-slightly paler than the rest of her. “He’s not going to let the citizens back into the city?”

“Hmm?” Korra said, gaze pivoting to Asami’s face. “Actually, he is, I think. I’ve got to do some political work for him but it sounded like he’d let them in soon.”

“Wait, political work? As a precondition?”

“Um… not exactly. He made it sound like he was too busy to focus on it because of political problems…”

“That he trusted you with. The woman he exiled from the city.” Asami laughed fondly. “Korra, you got played. No wonder you’re frustrated.”

Her blood started roiling again. “That isn’t even _it_ , Asami! Ever since we got back, he’s just been so… so disapproving. About us.”

“Ah.”

“But he won’t even _talk_ about it! It’s just like, ‘Oh, you and Miss Sato, so dedicated to the city, so unfortunate you’re both vaguely immoral, harrumph harrumph.’” She made a fart sound with her tongue for further emphasis. “What’s his deal?”

Asami didn’t stand, so much as glide upright. Her arms slid beneath Korra’s, winding around her waist. “I _did_ try to warn you. So did Kya.” She gave Korra’s pouting lips a quick kiss. “Some people don’t like what they don’t understand.”

“What’s to understand?” Korra asked, plead. “This isn’t the inside of a Satomobile, or something complicated like that. I love you, enough that it hurts my brain looking for words to express it. You love me back, apparently—”

“Deliriously,” Asami purred, her eyelids low.

“That’s… that’s a good word.” Korra’s blood stayed hot, but the reason was starting to shift. She kissed Asami’s jaw on the way to nuzzling into her shoulder. “How could anyone think this is wrong?”

“The important thing is we know better. We can deal with the likes of Raiko.”

She found herself laughing into Asami’s neck. The shudder that went through the taller woman was an unexpected benefit. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. He tried to make an issue of it today, so I... sorta… told him to knock it off. In the Avatar State.”

Asami snorted. “I imagine that would work. So long as you don’t get us banished again.”

“Not likely.” Korra sighed, closing her eyes, feeling Asami’s warmth around her, the weight of her arms, the tickling of that amazing hair on her bare shoulders. She could stay like this forever. “I love the way you make me feel.”

Asami made a happy noise, kissing the top of her head. “Staying the night again?”

“Yep. If that’s okay.” She’d been here so often, she was worried maybe Asami was starting to resent her. “Eska’s still at the Air Temple.”

“Is that the only reason?”

Korra tilted her head back, nibbling at Asami’s jaw. “Nope.”

Asami’s breath caught. She grabbed Korra’s wrists. “Don’t start that unless you mean it.” 

She swallowed at the intensity in those eyes, that green hunger that threatened to throw Korra to the floor and consume her. They’d shared a bed from the night Asami had had it moved here, but so far, all they’d used it for was sleep. And some light-to-heavy fondling that wound them both up before Korra possum-chickened out—which made said sleep pretty difficult. “I… I want to,” she began again.

The engineer growled frustration. “But?”

But, she was scared. But, she didn’t want to disappoint Asami. But, she didn’t want to mess anything up. Didn’t want to risk shattering her happily-ever-after. Didn’t want to give herself more to lose.

She broke their gaze. How could she say any of that?

“It’s not me, is it?” Asami asked, their bodies drifting apart.

“What? How could you think...” Korra looked back at her, shocked. “Asami, you’re the most beautiful, capable, crazy-awesome person in the world! Of course it’s not you!”

That got Asami smiling again at least. “And it’s not about what Raiko said?”

“Pff, _no_. Screw that jerk.” Korra reclaimed her hands, crossing her arms, looking away again.

Asami cradled her chin, pulling it back up. “You know I won’t ever pressure you. I won’t ever make you do something you don’t want to.”

Her mouth worked. Strained sounds came out. She was boiling, so hot, too hot…

“You said you love the way I make you feel?”

Korra nodded weakly, lost in Asami’s lidded eyes. 

Asami leaned closer. “Do you…” Their lips were a breath apart. “...know…” Her words, barely a whisper. “...what you do to me?”

The ache from a long day of bending was overwhelmed with a new, more urgent one. Korra, trembling, shook her head.

Their lips opened, a kiss so painfully close. Asami’s words breathed over her teeth.

“When you’re ready, I’ll show you.”

Asami backed away. The air felt cold where she had been. Korra’s face was still angled up. Her body was still trembling.

The engineer untied her hair, flipping it over her shoulder in a silky cascade, and sat back down at her drafting table.

Korra felt every ounce of tension still coiled in her body.

She looked through the bedroom door. That step...

“Asami?”

“Mm?”

“I’m just… I spent all that time, hating myself. Hating my body. How weak I was, how much I—”

Asami turned, her head tilted, sympathy pouring from her eyes. “Korra—”

“Let me… just let me finish.”

Asami swallowed, nodded.

Korra licked her lips. “Maybe it was the poison, I don’t know. Maybe it was everything. I was so, so scared and so alone and so desperate to be touched, but every time even my parent’s hands brushed my skin, every supportive hug, it was like, I didn’t deserve it. I was too broken and useless to deserve it. And I _know_ that’s unfair and I know it’s… it’s ridiculous. But you, sitting there. You’re so perfect, just so effortlessly elegant and perfect, and I’ve barely put myself back together, and…” She sighed. “And I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you, I—”

“Korra, stop.” Asami’s voice was firm. “You’re my best friend, and I love you. But you’re afraid to do this in case something happens? Trust me, Korra. If something happens, you’ll only ever wish you’d done more. Anything more. Anything.”

Korra winced. “Asami, I didn’t mean—”

“Let _me_ finish.”

She couldn’t precisely argue with that. “Okay.”

Asami stood. “I know you’ve been through a lot since you first left home. But you’re not the only one who’s been hurt. Any random time of day, I’ll think of my father, and I’ll choke on my grief, on the part of me that still hates him. For so much time before that, I’d hardened myself, I’d taken everything we had and let it calcify. I wouldn’t let myself think of any of the happy times we had together, nothing from my childhood. Bolin and Mako drifted away, my best friend was just _gone,_ off somewhere hurting, and there was nothing I could do about it. All I had was work. I worked and I worked and I smiled for the company and I smiled for the cameras, but the pain never went away. Then, he came back. Then, _you_ came back.”

She stepped forward, taking Korra’s hands again. “I’d tried to get past you. I’d tried to move on. But there you were, sheepish and adorable and even more beautiful than I remembered. My heart started pounding and it still does every time I see you. I knew I was done for then and there, Korra. And then, Kuvira…”

Korra couldn’t tell who started moving, but they pulled each other into a tight embrace.

“I love you, Korra. And I want to spend every second I can showing it. I need you to know, I need you to _feel_ how important you are to me. Every other happy thing in my life turns to ash, but you…”

She trembled. If anything, that scared her more. “I don't know if I can live up to that, Asami. That's a lot of pressure."

Asami took Korra’s shoulders, holding herself back to look in her eyes. “I know. It's a lot to ask. But you know what else is?” She ran her eyes down Korra’s body. “Looking at _you_ all this time and being this close to all that and dammit but I have needs.”

Korra laughed, blushing.

“I want to spend every moment I can sharing my love,” Asami said. “And my hands want to touch you absolutely everywhere. I won’t rush you, Korra. But how many times do we need to learn the same lesson? We’ve both lost everything before. Let me give you everything, Korra. I’m not sure how much longer I can give you less.”

Tears were welling in Korra’s eyes. Her hands covered her mouth, holding everything back. Asami reached up, gently wiping the tears away.

And the doubt. And the fear.

Korra put her hands behind Asami’s neck, drawing her down into a deep kiss. Loving, as always. Thrilling, as always. But now, Korra let loose something new.

 _Hunger_.

Asami felt it, moaning into her lips, returning Korra’s need in a torrent. The Avatar’s knees grew weak, and it was all she could do to guide them down gracefully.

It was a good thing Asami had put down rugs.

A very, very good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't set out to do more character assassination on Raiko--not that I like the guy, but he's too often made to look ridiculous. I was hoping to give off a slimy but sly politician here, caught by his own prejudices. If he came off as too big of an ass, well, no damage done. 
> 
> Chu came organically. I'm not 100% sure what the story wants from him, but he makes some good points about Asami's relation to the spirit world. I think. Or he could just be pompous and needlessly mysterious. Coming from the Spirit World doesn't automatically make one a font of mystical wisdom, after all. 
> 
> Guys. Guys. Eska is SO MUCH FUN to write. I expected Bolin to get more play here but once the situation was set up, these two ladies interacting was far more entertaining a thought for me. Plus, she needed to be called out. 
> 
> I had to massage the ending to this one a few times to make the timing feel right. What even IS the right timing? They've known each other for years, but only been in each other's lives for the last month, really... well this is the answer they came up with. 
> 
> And before anyone asks, no, this story will not segue in to smut. I'm trying to stay tonally more like the series, for one. For two, honestly, sex is usually pretty boring to write and wastes a lot of space. Smut is fine and has its place, but telling a narrative story, it's rare that the act of sex itself actually impacts the plot or develops characters. 
> 
> That being said, you can expect a bit more gratuitous Korrasami fluff in the next several chapters, but I swear that all has deep and important narrative significance mhm yes indeed.


	6. Kindness and Steel

_It seemed like every time she or someone she knew had come to the Spirit World, they’d just_ bumped into _Iroh while looking desperately for something else. But now that she was actually_ looking _for the man—or his spirit or whatever he was—he was nowhere to be found? Typical spirit-world annoyingness._

“ _Is that… yeah, that’s the first building I’ve seen here,” Asami said, squinting upward. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s built upside-down from trees.”_

_The engineer sounded almost disgusted at all the ways that sentence violated physics. “Won Xi Tong’s library,” Korra explained. “He’s always been quite the recluse, I hear.”_

_Korra craned her neck up to look at the huge, stately building, and sighed. Every time she’d run into Iroh by accident, he’d told her what she needed to know. The Spirit World gave her what she needed, not what she wanted. So apparently, she needed to be here. “Hey, mind if I do an errand?”_

“ _Does that ‘errand’ have any potential of letting me browse a library of ancient knowledge?”_

“ _Um… well I suppose it might. Though I didn’t think ‘ancient’ knowledge was your thing, Miss Future Industries.”_

_Asami smirked. “Maybe not. But you never know what tidbit will be useful later.”_

_Korra nodded. They both stared up._

“ _So,” Asami continued, “How do we get up there? There’s nowhere to climb.”_

_The trees and spirit vines that held the library up were huge, and often too sheer to scale. As they watched, however, one of Won Xi Tong’s spirit foxes trotted along the forest floor, a scroll in its mouth. Without breaking stride, it set a paw on the side of a tree and trotted right up it._

_They jogged over to the spot it had climbed. Asami ran her fingers along the tree, frowning at it._

_Korra didn’t think about it. The fox walked up, so she could to. She rested her foot on the tree, leaned back, and imagined the tree as_ down _._

_She took another step. Then another. “Hah, how ‘bout that!”_

_Asami looked at her, their faces close but perpendicular. The engineer hadn’t looked so surprised since they’d first seen Bumi airbend._

“ _Coming, Miss Sato?” Korra asked, holding out her elbow._

“ _Um… nope.” Asami said, looking up the tree, then beneath Korra—_

 _Her footing wobbled._ Behind _her, Asami was looking_ behind _her. “C’mon, Asami. Get on the ground, you’re disorienting me.”_

_Asami knelt, waving her hands between Korra and the forest… wall. She bit her lip._

“ _Hey,” Korra said, cupping Asami’s cheek. She gently guided Asami to her feet, bringing the engineer into a kiss. Korra’s arms wrapped around her as the kiss deepened, in spite of the odd angle of both of their necks. She dug her fingers into the base of Asami’s scalp, at just a spot the taller woman found most… distracting._

_Asami moaned, closing her eyes._

_Korra swept her off her feet. Without breaking the kiss, she brought Asami into a tight, heated embrace, before setting her down with a grin._

_Asami blinked, breathless. “Well. Wow, that was… I’m standing on the tree, now, aren’t I?”_

_Korra held Asami’s shoulders, bracing herself against the wallward lurch. “So the world moved for you too, then?”_

_Asami snorted, then covered her face, blushing at the sound. Korra just kissed her again. “You are beyond adorable. Now let’s walk along this tree which is definitely the ground, okay?_

“ _Okay,” Asami said, biting her lip but walking with her. “You know I’ll follow you anywhere.”_

 

***

 

The telephone on Suyin’s desk rang. She set down her tea to answer it, her eyes still scanning reports from Ba Sing Se. “Suyin Beifong.”

“Hi! It’s Korra.”

Suyin leaned back in her chair. “Korra! I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see you before we left. I hear you had some sort of Spirit World emergency to deal with?”

“Pff, hardly. Asami and I went on a vacation there together.”

Su held the receiver away from her lips to cover her chuckle. “A vacation? Well, you’d certainly earned it.”

“It was a romantic vacation,” Korra clarified. “Because we are together now. Romantically.”

She let Korra hear her laugh this time. “Yes, I had a feeling that might be the case.” She’d have to contact Lin and Bumi about the pool.

“Yeah,” Korra sighed happily. “Your daughter noticed years ago and I wish she’d told us because Asami is just amazing, she's so smart and sensitive and pretty and her hair is just… it’s even softer than it looks, and so his her skin and she smells nice too, Su. And her laugh, her laugh is just the best…”

Spirits, she was mooning worse than Opal had. Thank goodness she’d grown up in the Southern Water Tribe, and not the North. She might never have figured it out, then. “Do you have baby names picked out yet?”

“What?! No, we only just—I mean, we can’t even—”

Su laughed to hear her so flustered. It was good to know that the last few years hadn’t hardened the woman altogether. “Well, as happy as I am for you, I can’t imagine that’s why you called.”

“Right, yeah. Raiko said there’s an issue with the colossus?”

Suyin scoffed. “Only if Raiko insists on making one. Once affairs are settled in the Earth Territory, I will pay to have it transported, that is only reasonable, but that platinum belongs to Zaofu.”

“Uh… well the thing is, Su… Raiko doesn’t want to just give it to you. The colossus was used to destroy half the city, he feels that gives us some right to it.”

Suyin pressed her lips together. “So, if someone stole a sword from my wall, and used it to maim a man, it is no longer my sword?”

“Um…”

“I can’t believe Raiko would be so craven as to dump this on you. But I suppose if he’s too scared to fight his own battles, who better to hide behind than the Avatar?”

“Suyin, the thing is… I _do_ kind of agree with him. We’re _still_ clearing wreckage, and since we can’t bend the shell we’ve had to chop the thing up with plasma guns and move it bit by bit.”

She tapped her fingers against her desk. “Yes, I’m sure that is taking a lot of time and effort. By the way, how helpful have the metalbenders I loaned you been?”

“Uh… very?”

She waited for Korra to complete the thought. “It’s been free of charge, after all. Just room and board for them, while they work. That’s a better deal for your city than its own citizens.”

“I… guess so…”

Suyin had an evil thought. It was conniving and a little low, but neither of them were enjoying this conversation. “So, how did Mako react when he heard about you and Asami?”

“Oh, Spirits,” Korra murmured. “He doesn’t know yet!”

Su smirked, sipping her tea, and allowed the conversation to drift.

 

 

***

 

 

“Is everything alright, Miss Sato?” Tenni asked as Asami stepped into the office that had once been her bedroom. Her assistant glanced at the clock.

Asami’s cheeks colored. “Tenni, I can’t really talk about it. But everything is _fantastic_. Sorry I’m late.”

The other woman chuckled. “You sure? You look a strange combination of relaxed and exhausted.”

Perhaps pleasantly sore as well. She was determined not to let that show. “Incisive as always.”

Tenni bit her lip. “You know, as your assistant, it might help me anticipate future scheduling difficulties if you were to, perhaps, share a few juicy details?”

“Tenni!”

“Hey, I've watched you pine over the woman for three years. I'm emotionally invested in how this turns out.”

Asami rolled her eyes. “What Korra and I do to and with each other is our own private business. Just know that she is incredibly gentle and incredibly sweet and also she can dead lift my entire weight. Now.” Asami sat behind her desk, setting down a folder. “Anything pressing to jump into?”

Tenni thought a moment, opened her mouth—

“—without resorting to crass double entendre?”

She slouched, sulking. “Ruin all my fun, fine.” Tenni ruffled papers at her desk while Asami settled into hers—there hadn’t been time to build a partition yet.

“The Satomobile shipment to Harbor City cannot be fulfilled, but I was able to reroute a portion from the Fire Nation shipment. Better to deal with scarcity issues both places than lose presence in one altogether.”

Asami nodded, flexing her wrist and fingers. Perhaps she'd avoid writing too much today. “It might even increase demand in the short term. We should check to make sure dealers aren’t gouging on our economy models.”

“Just the economy models?”

“We make the highest quality luxury motorcar on the market. If we can cement it as a status symbol, it should help that division’s bottom line. And there’s nothing wealthy people want more than something there isn’t enough of.”

Tenni nodded. “The load from the harbor factory arrived last night, after you went home. Only about a tenth of the equipment was even worth trying to salvage.”

“This is the list?” Asami asked, scanning the top paper on her desk. “Hmm, a bit of good news. More fabrication equipment survived than I’d expected.”

“Ah, you can thank your friendly competition for that.”

“Varrick and Zhu Li?”

“More like Zhu Li and Varrick. She took him to the site and told him there was no way any of the equipment was salvageable…”

“Oh,” Asami laughed. “You’re saying Varrick _rebuilt_ all of this from the wreckage?”

“Most of it, yeah. Which also got him out of the office while we were moving our operation out here.”

Asami smirked. “Well, I’d better go check it out myself. Half of it probably works better than it ever did, half of it might explode, and there may be some overlap. But so long as our machinists have the tools to use, we can rebuild anything else we need while we’re waiting for the port to reopen.”

“We just have to get the machinists here,” Tenni said. “Technically speaking, the estate will serve all our manufacturing and office needs once the retrofit is complete, but we _are_ a bit removed from the city center. Not all of our employees have a way here.”

Right. A lot of her workers had relied on the train, or even simply walked. “We… hmm. We’ll need to make that convenient somehow. Retrofit a few of our larger trucks into transports? Pick up the workers from some centralized location?”

“Sounds like a good test for Varrick’s repaired tools.”

Asami nodded distractedly. Large scale people transports. Most of the big cities in the world had some form of public transit, but building new rail lines took time, and some of the older systems depended on benders to function. And in the case of emergencies or evacuations, something like these people-trucks could be very useful. Perhaps military applications even? How quickly could the Earth Empire army be returned to Ba Sing Se if they had a few hundred people trucks?

“You’ve got that look again,” Tenni said.

“What look?”

“That look that usually winds up being profitable. The Sato Spark.”

Well, that sure beat the Varri-method. “Did my dad get that look too?”

Tenni paused. She’d been Hiroshi’s secretary before Asami’s, and had spent a long time avoiding the obviously painful subject. This might be—probably was—the first time Asami had brought him up. “He did, yes. Just like you—furrowed brow, intent eyes, slight frown. Feverish notes, sketches, calculations. Hands on his hips and a satisfied smirk when he finished. There were really only two things that made him really smile: concluding that some idea of his was going to work, and talking to you.”

Asami turned to the family photo on her desk, a sad smile on her own lips.

“Are you okay?” Tenni asked.

Words couldn’t be trusted at the moment. She nodded instead.

“You know,” Tenni continued. “Seeing you, the way you came into the office today... all of his politics aside, Hiroshi Sato wanted to see you happy. He'd be glad, to know you've found somebody that makes you feel that way.”

Asami pressed her eyes shut, raising a hand between herself and her assistant. There had been a moment, as they'd rushed to finish the hummingbird suits. Korra had come through the workshop, running through the details of the plan, again. Asami had told her she'd get the job done.

That wasn't what Korra was worried about. She'd touched the engineer's shoulder, a worried look in her eyes. 'You need to come back,' she said.

Asami had reassured her she would, feeling none of the certainty she conveyed. Korra's touch lingered, longer than it should have, not long enough.

It wasn't until the Avatar had left that Asami had noticed her father's gaze. His thoughtful look.

“She cares for you,” he'd said, offhandedly.

“We're friends,” she'd insisted, too hard.

He'd arched an eyebrow at her. “Whatever you are, I'm glad,” he'd said, placing his hand over hers.

“Rats,” Tenni said, loudly, to herself. “Out of paper. I better get some. And might as well spend a few minutes refreshing my tea while I'm up. Ten minutes away from work won't hurt anything.”

“Get me some too,” Asami said, her voice a razor's edge from cracking. “Fresh. Well-steeped.”

“I'll take my time,” Tenni reassured, gently shutting the office door as she left.

 

 

***

 

 

Tenzin yawned, swaying with the movement of the palanquin as it moved through the capital. He kept bumping into Izumi, who was reading documents to her own firebent light.

“Do… you usually start your days so early, Highness?” asked Caluqtiq, one of the two Northern waterbenders they’d just picked up from the harbor. She was pleasantly matronly, her elaborate bun-and-braids just barely streaked gray near the roots.

“I do not start or end days,” Izumi replied, eyes not even flickering from the report. “I take deep half-hour naps at regularly spaced intervals.”

“Oh,” Caluqtiq said, glancing at her son Nuktik beside her. For his part, the young man kept stealing wide-eyed glances at the world leaders across from him, hands fidgeting against shaking knees.

“The night is awfully warm here, isn't it?” Caluqtiq continued.

“Perhaps you should adjust your wardrobe,” Izumi said. “Furs do not suit the climate.”

Tenzin sighed, leaning forward to smooth the tribespeople over. “We’ll get you some local clothes once we return to the palace. The colors may feel unusual, but the cut and style is far more suitable for the weather.”

Caluqtiq nodded thanks, clearing her throat. “We'd appreciate that, Master Tenzin. The Fire Nation is very different from our city. I can’t say I’ve ever rode in a, what was this called? Palaq… Palen…”

“Palanquin,” Tenzin offered, stifling another yawn. Sunrise was hours away yet.

“Motor vehicles are not suited to our steep, narrow paths,” Izumi said.

“I still think that it creates a bad image,” said Tenzin. “Literally putting yourself above your subjects.”

“I am above my subjects, Tenzin. They are my subjects. That is the foundation of the entire social order.”

“Yes, but… can’t you see how riding on their backs could cause resentment?”

“You are in here with me.”

“As opposed to walking along outside?”

“I would not stop you.”

Tenzin crossed his arms, eyebrows twitching. Maybe… no, he couldn’t abandon Caluqtiq and Nuktik like that.

Izumi flipped to the next page of her report.

“So, Master Tenzin,” Caluqtiq said before the silence grew too awkward. “I’d just like to say again what an honor it is to meet you. My grandfather actually trained with your father, under Master Pakku.”

“Oh?” Tenzin leaned forward. “He certainly was a world traveler. Did they get on well?” Of course, his and Izumi’s fathers had been best friends, and look how well she got along with him.

“They… didn’t train together long,” Caluqtiq said, a trifle embarrassed. “Your father took to waterbending like a natural. Grandpa said that he was the second most talented waterbender he’d ever seen. After your mother.”

Tenzin smiled warmly. “I’ll pass that on to her, next time we talk.”

“What’s she like?” Nuktik asked in an energetic rush. “I heard she can make water out of the air, and that she can bend the oceans on the moon, and—”

Tenzin chuckled, and the boy clamped his mouth shut, looking down.

“He’s a little excited,” Caluqtiq said, putting her arm around her son’s back. “Katara has always been his hero.”

“I will _definitely_ tell her that, Nuktik. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. She would be the first to send attention away from herself, but part of me has always thought it unfair how much she’s been overshadowed by my father.”

“Right?” Nuktik leaned forward, his hands clasping the seat to either side of him. “Avatar Aang ended the war and saved the Earth Kingdom, but Master Katara freed the Northern Water Tribe!”

Freed the Northern Water Tribe? “How do you mean?”

Nuktik opened his mouth, then looked to his mother for permission. She smiled, and gave him a nod and a pat on the back. “Before she got there, my mom would’ve been forced to just learn healing, and my sisters would’ve been married off to whoever Dad arranged for, and I… would have too.” He fidgeted uncomfortably. “It was really unfair, but because the Fire Nation were the bad guys back then nobody ever talks about the bad things we did. But then Katara came up and she kicked Master Pakku’s butt and helped win the war and nobody could say girls were worse anymore.”

“You are… quite the little historian, Nuktik,” Tenzin said, struggling against an unexpected lump in his throat. “My mother will be very proud to hear what an impact she’s had.”

“The Fire Nation certainly owes her a debt,” Izumi said. “Defeating my aunt, saving my own father’s life.” She sat her papers on her lap for a moment, looking at the boy across from her. “Tenzin inherited his mother’s humility, and they both are prone to undervaluing their own worth. So let me tell you this: Katara is a fountain of kindness wrapped around the sharpest, unbreakable steel. If you are to draw inspiration from any of the heroes of the Hundred Year War, you will find no better.”

Tenzin stared at the Fire Lord, stunned into silence. He had no idea she held his mother in such high regard. Was that even a compliment for himself in there?

To cap off the shock, Izumi favored the Water Tribe boy with a small smile before returning to her work. Nuktik beamed.

Perhaps he’d had her wrong, all these years. She did well by her people, imperial styling and emotional distance or no.

She’d identified his mother as steel beneath kindness. But Tenzin realized then, that Izumi was the same things, reversed: kindness wrapped in steel.

The footsteps of the palanquin bearers bore them forward. Considering all the simmering unrest in the Fire Nation, if it had taken fifty years for Tenzin to figure her out, what chance was there her people knew it?

 

 

***

 

 

“What are those papers you consult all day?” Eska asked Somi suddenly.

The radio operator twitched when she spoke. “Um… just word puzzles. There is a lot of down time between messages. They keep me occupied.”

“Interesting. May I see one?” Eska rose, just as someone entered the door.

“Chief Eska,” Korra greeted.

“Cousin.” She should probably delay her friendship overture. Cousin Korra likely did not seek her out from a sense of familial regard. “Are you well? You appear as if you’ve been in a fight.”

Korra flushed, a hand covering the bruise on her neck, which only served to show off parallel scratches on her arms. “Never mind that. But yes. I’m doing well. Very well. Very, very _very_ well.”

“Congratulations on your ample superlatives.”

“My…” Korra looked down at herself, then shook her head. “Thanks, I guess. Anyway, Raiko said you have some concerns about the Spirit World?”

“Yes. As the Avatar you should as well. Have you been there, recently?”

A wide, lopsided grin crossed her cousin’s face. “Yeah. Yeah I have.”

“Did you notice any evidence of casual human activity?”

Korra crossed her arms, going flush. “Not... that is, I was... my focus was on... something else. But as opposed to what? Do you think people should only go there to commune with the spirits?”

“That is logical.”

“And… that’s it? The Spirit World is _huge_ , and we have spirits in the physical world now, too.”

“As we should have for the last ten thousand years.” Eska tilted her head. “I thought that was why you left the portals open?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Korra put an arm on her hip, thinking.

In Eska’s experience, that could take a while. “Specifically, we have concerns with your father’s trade route.”

“Yeah, he mentioned the road they were building while I was there. What’s the problem? Once that’s complete, you’ll be able to get from one tribe to the other within a few days, instead of weeks by ship.”

Eska blinked. The Avatar must not have thought this through. “The area around the spirit portals is holy ground. Would you have a road paved past the Tree of Time?”

“Um… wow yeah I guess that does sound weird. I could ask Asami, she’d think of some elegant ways to connect the portals for travel without disrupting the landscape.”

“That is not the suggestion I was making. Has this Asami even been to the Spirit World?”

Korra's grin returned. Her tone was distant and strange, almost prideful. “Yes. Yes she has.”

Her cousin was acting distinctly odd today. Even for her. “I am glad I stayed at the Air Temple this time. Republic City has so much smoke and soot. And now all of that, and all the people that make it, are a short walk away from the Spirit World. Do you think boring human activity is appropriate for that sacred place?”

The Avatar shifted her weight. “Eska, if you don’t want people in the Spirit World, I might as well have left the portals closed. The whole idea was to make the two worlds closer. Spirits live among us humans now, and they don’t do a ton to accommodate us honestly. We’ve had to learn to live with them. Shouldn’t they have to learn to live with us, too? Or are they supposed to have a whole world to themselves _and_ half of ours?”

Eska blinked. For the first time since leaving the North, she was inclined to consult with her brother. “You make a cogent point, cousin. There are certainly inappropriate activities for the Spirit World, but we cannot block it off as a preserve. This is a complicated matter.”

“Too complicated for two people to deal with,” Korra agreed. “We should sit down, with my dad and Raiko. Probably Jinora, too—she knows the Spirit World even better than me. We can come up with rules for who can go in, how we keep track. It would be very easy for someone to get lost or hurt in there.”

“That is logical, but may be problematic back home. Yourself and your father are hardly popular figures.”

Korra reeled back. “What? Why not!?”

“You fought against us in a civil war and you killed our last chief.”

“Well… sure. But I couldn’t exactly let him oppress my people or end civilization!”

“I do not hold a grudge against you, cousin, but I cannot control the feelings of my people. They can be an emotional lot. Still, all the leaders responsible for territory with portals do need to be heard. I shall talk to Jinora, and let her make the arrangements. My people should find that more palatable.”

Korra nodded at her, then turned to leave.

“Wait, cousin. Could I discuss another matter with you? It is personal in nature.”

“Uh… sure! We’re relatives, I guess.”

“You are uncertain of our relation? We share grandparents.”

Her cousin’s eye twitched. “That’s not… what’s the question, Eska?”

“Opal Beifong visited me yesterday. We had a conversation. I believe it may have been uncomfortable. Somi, was it uncomfortable?”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Korra said, raising her hands and giving the radio woman a pitying look. “I assume it was about Bolin?”

“Yes. Specifically, about my treatment of him. You observed our wild courtship. Did you find any of my actions untoward?”

“Uh…” Korra scratched the back of her neck. “Honestly?”

“Why would I wish you to lie to me?” What would be the point of conversation if you couldn’t believe what the other said?

Korra shrugged. “You were kind of a tyrant with him, yeah. He was scared to death of you, and even more scared of what you might do if he tried to stand up for himself. Which, for the record, is bad.”

“Are relationships not built on stability? If he made his own decisions, we might not act in concert.”

“That’s not… oh boy Eska, I may be the Avatar but I’m not sure I’m equipped to give you relationship advice. But trust me, love doesn’t come from fear. It comes from respect. And compassion. And understanding each other, wanting to be there for each other. Trusting her more than yourself, knowing she’ll never let you down—”

Korra was using female pronouns. Curious. “Are you speaking now of his treatment of me?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. Point is… you learned a lot about relationships from your dad, who I’m pretty sure we can both agree was terrible. You probably have a lot to unlearn.”

Mother _had_ become much happier in the last few years. She even ventured out of her provided estate. “How bothersome. Thank you cousin. That will be all.”

Korra rolled her eyes, and left.

Eska turned around. “Now. Somi. Explain this word puzzle to me.”

 

 

***

 

 

“You know,” Wu said, spinning a cane as he walked just ahead of Mako, “she may be crazy and all, but I see why Kuvira wanted the rest of the Earth Kingdom to be more like Zaofu. Everything is so shiny!”

Mako kept scanning the horizon. The army that had been left to hold Zaofu had decamped at the news of Kuvira’s surrender, and still nobody knew where it was. The last time he’d stayed here too long, Korra had nearly been kidnapped. It made him… nervous. “I think she was more impressed by the technology and standard of living. There’s a distinct lack of slums.”

“Huh, I hadn’t noticed that!” Of course he hadn’t. “Where do all the poor people live?”

“I don’t think they have any poor people.”

“Don’t… she doesn’t have them banished, does she?”

“No!”

“Then what do they do with them?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t think they have any.”

“Mako, don’t be silly. There’s always going to be some people with more and some with less.”

“If that’s the case, doesn’t that make you poor? Technically, you don't have anything.”

Wu stopped, his mouth screwed up sidewise. “Huh, I guess it does. So is Suyin going to banish me?”

“I told you, she doesn’t do that.”

“Then where would I live if I lived here?”

“You have quarters, Wu. They’re next to mine.”

“Yeah, and that weird Red Lotus guy too.”

Mako grunted.

“Where are we going, anyhow?” Wu asked.

“I’m not sure where you’re going.”

“Well, I was following you.”

“Okay, one, why? And two, you can't be following me, you're in front of me.”

Wu turned, counting on his fingers as he walked backwards. “One, we’re best pals! Two, now we’re in front of each other.” He waggled his gigantic eyebrows, grinning.

There were times Mako was fond of the former prince. There were other times he wanted to drown him in a lake. “I was going to go watch Torru speak. You can come, if you’re quiet, but he might point you out.”

“Mako!” Wu gasped. “I can’t believe you’re listening to that whack-job!”

After what he’d seen Zaheer do? Never. “I didn’t say I was going to listen. I’m going to _watch_.”

“Ooh. Cop sense, I gotcha. I’d best leave you be, then. You’ve got work to do.”

He nodded noncommittally, happy to have Wu leave on his own accord for once. It wasn’t that he was shadowing Torru officially, not exactly… but Suyin had said that she liked to know what the man was up to. She kept a few of her guards on him, but that was more to protect him from the White Lotus than it was to keep tabs on what he was saying, or who he was saying it to. And they preferred to keep their distance after he’d tried to sell his thinking to a dozen of them.

Torru had a spot he favored, an open-air dining area outside a cheap eatery where a lot of the city’s workers and students took their breaks. He’d found a corner where he could preach, for lack of a better word, without getting in the way. He almost would have expected him to be pushier, but the old man was always polite, in a gruff sort of way.

Mako leaned against the railing overlooking the plaza, out of earshot, but with a good view of the crowd. Torru sat apart, facing anybody who seemed to pay attention. A nearby table filled with young people—students, probably—listened intently. Another table nearby roared with laughter from time to time. He probably wasn’t going to find any adherents there.

Nearby movement caught his attention—Tsu Ying. “Is this rail taken, or could I borrow a bit?”

“Go ahead,” he motioned, turning his attention back toward the crowd below.

Tsu Ying watched with him. “Those kids, table on the right? The girl and the boy in red, they were here the last two days.”

“You’ve been watching, too?”

“Captain wants to know everything he does—and anything our people do to him. I’m thinking, though, he can barely walk, he’s easy to track and neutralize. Those kids, though? Maybe they’re wearing red now, but they could blend in if they wanted to. We should be way more worried about them.”

Mako shook his head. “Have you heard any of his pitch? Zaheer was so crazy he had to work in the shadows. I’m surprised Su lets him talk at all, after Aiwei betrayed her.”

“Aiwei?”

Right, she wouldn't know about that. “He was a Red Lotus agent who’d worked his way up to Su’s top advisor. I helped flush him out last time I was here.”

She gave him an odd, sideways look. “How old are you?”

“Twenty three?” Where’d that come from? “Why?”

Tsu Ying chuckled. “Nothing. Never mind. I have heard a bit of what he’s preaching, down there. A lot about abolishing ownership, communal decision making. Everyone helping their neighbors, working for their communities and not for some far-away fat cats… a lot of things that don’t sound that radical until you follow the consequences.”

Mako shook his head, tapping his fist against the rail. “I just can’t believe anybody would _join_ the Red Lotus. I was in Ba Sing Se when it fell. I saw the fires, I saw the looting. Bodies in the streets, centuries of history destroyed… that’s the kind of freedom he wants?”

Tsu Ying turned toward him, considering his face. “I didn’t know you were there for that. I suppose, being part of the Avatar’s entourage gets you a front row seat to a lot of big world events.”

“A lot more than I wanted to see,” Mako agreed.

“I bet people ask about your adventures all the time.”

Whenever the found out who he was. “When they aren’t asking me about dating the Avatar, yeah.”

The woman beside him sighed. “Did you ever hear of a place called Guanlin?”

Mako shook his head. Another student joined the table, squeezing a chair beside the boy in the red shirt.

“Doesn’t surprise me. It was a small town, a stop on the trade road between Yi and Omashu. Big enough to support itself, too small for a garrison. I was part of the local guard.”

She paused, seeming to wait for something from him. He nodded her to continue.

“You saw how Ba Sing Se was after the Earth Queen fell. I can only imagine, I’ve never been. But I do know what happened in the countryside. Royal control had always been tenuous at best, but after the two surviving generals from the Council of Five recalled everything to try to stabilize the capital, that left… nothing.”

Why was she telling him this? She didn't seem the type for superfluous conversation. “Did people in your city revolt?”

Tsu Ying smiled, barely. “No. Our mayor treated us well, we had enough crops. For a little while, everything was fine. Until the governor of the neighboring state thought this might be a good time to carve out her own little Earth Kingdom. She marched on Omashu, and we were right in her way.”

Mako was watching her now, Torru forgotten. “You fought?”

“Until my first pike broke and I'd bloodied up another. Halfway through the battle, an earthbender knocked me through a wall, and the roof collapsed over me. I should consider myself lucky, I guess—nobody found me while they sacked the town. But I heard it. The fast scream of a man being stabbed. The long, pleading wails when—” her voice cracked.

Mako stepped toward her, a hand reaching.

“It’s okay,” she said, her own hand up to stop him. She settled back against the rail, looking down at the courtyard, but seeing only the past. “The smell was the worst… maybe not the worst part. But the part that sticks with you most. The smoke.”

“Sometimes,” Mako said quietly, “you pass a restaurant, or some well-cooked meat. And it comes back to you. Like you can turn a corner, and there it all is again.”

She gave him another smile, this one grim. “It’s funny. If Kuvira had been a little faster, I might have wound up in her army, instead of the White Lotus.”

“Well, I’m glad it didn’t happen that way,” Mako said.

Motion below caught both of their attention. The students and the workers were shouting at each other, while Torru shook his head in dismay. One of the workers metalbent a chair at the students, just as a cadre of Zaofu guards rushed onto the scene.

“What’s his game, do you think?” Tsu Ying asked.

Mako clasped his hands in front of his mouth. “I don’t know. Right now, he’s just one guy, but… I remember when the Equalists were barely a movement, too.”

Tsu Yin nodded. “Zaofu may be stable, but what happens when his folk spread out from Lao? Nobody is in charge over most of the continent, right now. The same thing that happened to my hometown could happen again a hundred times over.”

“That won’t happen again.”

“It happened three years ago.”

“Korra’s back in action now.”

“Korra’s one woman. She can stop a dictator, sure. An army, maybe. A hundred roving bands?”

He wanted to shake his head, tell her Korra could handle it. She hadn’t seen Korra in action, she didn’t know what the Avatar was capable of.

But he knew how big the world was. How many problems it had. How they had a way of spinning out of control.

And he knew how human Korra was, too.

Mako chuckled to himself, earning a look. “It’s just… four years ago, I was just an pro bender, hoping to make the finals. Now… who knew?”

Tsu Ying whistled, crossing her arms and leaning back to look at him. “Politically connected, war hero, easy on the eyes, and an athlete? What next, you’re a mover star too?”

He laughed. “That would be my brother.”

She snorted. “Is he available?”

“Nope. He’s dating Suyin’s daughter.”

Tsu Ying smirked. “Well. Guess I’ll have to keep looking.”

 

 

***

 

 

“How are you holding up, honey?” Bataar asked, hugging Suyin from behind while she sat at her desk.

She reached up, fingers brushing her husband’s arm. “As well as I can. I spent every day after Kuvira surrendered desperate to get back here and secure the city, but now that I’m here there’s not much I can do. We’ve got a skeleton force, the White Lotus is just a few hundred people, the domes are still gone, there’s at least one rogue army on the loose—”

He kissed above her ear. “Not what I meant.”

Suyin sighed, slouching. “It kills me that Junior’s rotting in a cell, half a continent away. I can’t even pretend he doesn’t deserve it. Just…”

“He’s our son,” Bataar said.

She nodded sadly, clutching his hand. “I didn’t think anything would hurt more than the way he left us, the anger he had for us. For you. But seeing him after Kuvira’s betrayal…”

Bataar gave her a squeeze. “Come to dinner, Su. The rest of your sons still want to see you.”

“Alright, alright,” she said, allowing herself to be guided to her feet.

The telephone rang. Su rolled her eyes, and picked it up. “Suyin Beifong.”

“Suyin,” a voice smiled over the line.

“Asami,” she answered warmly. “I spoke to Korra this morning.”

“Did you, now?” Asami half-laughed, conspiratorial. “And what did she have to say?”

“Enough for me to be thrilled for the both of you. Heck, the way she went on and on even made me a little jealous.”

Asami made a happy noise. “She is awfully energetic, isn't she?”

“I expect you would know that better than anyone.”

She'd expected flustered sputtering, like she'd gotten from Korra. Instead, Asami's voice dropped a few registers. “You have _no_ idea. Three plus years is a lot of tension to release, after all. I suspect she's far from finished releasing it. I know I'm not.”

Suyin felt her own cheeks color. Bataar quirked an eyebrow, and she waved him to go on ahead. “Then I suppose you don't want to get caught up talking to me. I assume you had some business?”

“I did,” Asami said, her voice returning to normal. “I understand, without the domes, you feel like Zaofu might be a little insecure.”

“Frankly, yes. Even with the domes, we got blindsided by Kuvira. The Earth Empire—or whatever we’re going to call it—is a dangerous place right now.”

“That’s what I thought. Isn’t it fortunate for you that you’re acquainted with a brilliant weapons manufacturer in need of a little capital?”

Su sat on the edge of her desk. “I’m listening.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This vacation flashback wound up a little overlong, so it got split over this and the previous chapters. Which means Korra got two POVs in a row, so Asami will have to get a twofer sometime, too. 
> 
> Sorry, no afterglow scene -- bookending with Su bits was too strong a structural decision to include that. I think seeing their moods and reactions out in the world is at least as illustrative! There will be time for cuddling later, I'm sure. (OR WILL THERE?)
> 
> I see why so many stories wind up giving Asami a sassy secretary/confidant. Quite helpful for exposition, when she needs somebody to talk to ABOUT Korra. She's not my favorite OC, she's really more of a plot device, but you need a few spear-carriers now and then. 
> 
> Tsu Ying, though, I'm having a lot of fun with. I've let her develop organically, without a particular plan in mind, but a few notions have developed. Mako needed another view hanging out in his orbit, and I really didn't want to be writing Wu all that often. Please, no. 
> 
> Also, meet some waterbenders! OCs everywhere, I've gone to far, aah! I wanted to get a Northern perspective that might be a little more open, and I'm covering so much ground geographically already I really didn't want to send a character up there, too. Plus, they're letting me delve into gender (and to a lesser extent, class) roles, which gives me plenty of room to play. And fangirl about Katara a bit. 
> 
> All that, Izumi, AND another Eska bit? YOU'RE FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN SHANNON. 
> 
> I've got most of my pieces on the board at this point. A little more positioning left to do. Thoughts on these developments? Comments? Validation for all the typing that has my proto-carpal tunnel acting up? Any and all would be appreciated. :)


	7. Kuodan

_Given the strangeness of their approach, entering the library was quite easy. And noticed immediately._

“ _Why have I done to deserve these constant unwanted interruptions?” the spirit owl boomed, wings threatening to envelop the two of them. Asami took a ready stance—prepared to fight or flee, awaiting Korra’s cue._

_Instead, Korra knelt._

“ _Great Won Xi Tong,” she said, head bowed. “I am the Avatar. I have come to apologize.”_

“ _Apologize?!” the spirit bristled._

_Korra nodded, firmly. “My past life, Aang, took advantage of your trust. On his behalf, as his inheritor, I seek to make amends.”_

“ _Foolish Avatar!” If anything, that had made Won Xi Tong angrier. “Aang’s trespass was but the final grain of sand atop a mountain.” His head snapped down, his beak gnashing inches from Korra’s face. “For centuries, men came to my library, and always the story was the same. You come now to apologize, but what do you hope to gain if I accept it?” The spirits claws cracked into the stonework beneath them. “Who are you trying to defeat?”_

_Korra steeled herself, kept any anger or sarcasm from her voice. “Nobody, great Won Xi Tong. I'll leave as soon as this conversation is over. I’m still young, and my time in the world has been short, but I have learned that consequences of one bad decision can echo across lifetimes. I am sorry for the betrayal and pain you have felt from Avatars past, and from all humans, but I do not expect to erase that memory from you.”_

“ _That is… wise. Perhaps you are not as unreasonable as I have been lead to believe. Or perhaps this, too, is a ruse?”_

_Now she_ really _had to try to keep sarcasm out of her voice. “What? No, not at all, great Won—”_

_The owl slithered through the air, neck stretched out to encircle Asami. “Who have you brought with you this time, Avatar?”_

_Korra’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t move. What could she do? Anything she did to protect Asami would only put her in greater danger. “My name is Asami. Asami Sato.”_

_Won Xi Tong’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps the Avatar plays at contrition, while her friend seeks to take advantage. Another tiresome story.”_

_Asami bowed, with ten times the grace Korra could have managed. Her hair hung to one side of her face, masking it. “Quite the opposite. Several years ago, you encountered a girl named Jinora.”_

_What was she_ doing _? Don’t remind him he was helping Unalaq!_

“ _I did,” Won Xi Tong said._

_Asami let out a quavering breath. Korra was holding hers. “She told us, after, that you had been… misinformed, about the way radios worked.”_

_Won Xi Tong continued glaring, but turned his gaze to the side, down a hallway. In the distance, soft enough to almost be imagined, came a dog-like whine._

“ _There have been countless scientific advances in the decades since you buried your library,” Asami continued, “Not to mention more novels and histories are being published now than ever before, and I’m quite certain you don’t have any movers yet.”_

“ _Movers?” the spirit quirked his head._

“ _Republic City has a spirit portal now,” Asami said. “Humans can enter the Spirit World as they please. We came peacefully, but others may be as you fear.”_

_Korra bit her lip. Won Xi Tong was incredibly powerful, and this was his home—Korra didn’t know if she could take him, but she trembled to think what would happen if he struck Asami before she could act._

“ _However, they may not if some of your knowledge was available elsewhere. I happen to finance our library system. If you would like to send some of your foxes, I can arrange for the library to loan you books. Perhaps you could exchange them—temporarily—with works from your own collection that you believe would be of scholarly value. As you chose, of course—no knowledge would leave your library without your consent, whereas the scholars in our libraries and universities would be more than happy to exchange our new learning for your ancient knowledge.”_

“ _Hmm. And is there some ancient knowledge Asami Sato was searching for?”_

“ _None,” Asami said firmly. “Though, if I may be so bold as to offer one modern observation… ‘He Who Knows Ten-Thousand Things’ does not sound nearly as impressive as it once did.”_

_An eerie, rhythmic sound came from the owl spirit, that made Korra’s hair stand on end. She realized, after a moment, it was a laugh. “Know that I will never again allow humans within these walls. But I accept your apology, Avatar. And your offer, Miss Sato. Now leave.”_

_Korra let out her breath, almost collapsing to the floor._

“ _Of course,” Asami said, helping Korra rise. “Thank you.”_

_Won Xi Tong nodded, watching them depart. Korra’s heart thundered as Asami wrapped her arm about her waist, finally letting herself to tremble at the owl spirit’s anger, at everything that could have gone wrong. She should never have brought Asami into that! What had she been thinking?!_

_Granted, Asami had been_ amazing _. There’s no way Korra could have made Won Xi Tong as happy—or at least, as much less_ un _happy as Asami had._

_As the reached the base of the tree, Asami chuckled, her eye glinting, then ducked low to hoist Korra into her arms._

_The Avatar yelped, laughing, her arm encircling Asami’s neck._

“ _Spirits, this seemed like a better idea before I realized how heavy you are!”_

“ _You_ like _all the muscle.”_

“ _That I do,” Asami strained, trying to smile while her arms shook. “Now how do I step back onto the ground?”_

_They fell the last two feet in a heap._

_Then they laughed until they couldn’t breathe._

“ _Well,” Asami finally said, rolling onto her backside and straightening her hair. “Any more Avatar errands?”_

_Korra flopped onto her back, still chuckling. “No ma’am. And… thank you.”_

“ _What for?”_

“ _Being here. Just… being. The world is better with Asami in it.”_

_In spite of the knobby forest floor, Asami wriggled down beside her. “Likewise.”_

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tenzin brought another morsel of rice to his lips, enjoying a congenial breakfast with the well-rested waterbenders. Blessedly, Izumi had not roused any of them. Nor had she left a message for them or instructions for what she wanted them to do or where she wanted them to go. Surprisingly inefficient.

“Are you alright?” Caluqtiq asked, noticing his frown.

“Oh yes, I’m fine, Caluqtiq. Just… ruminating.”

“Alright. And please, ‘Cal’ is fine.”

“As you like.” Tenzin bowed his head toward her. “I would like to thank you again for agreeing to come. None of the other spiritbenders were very receptive to my correspondence.”

Caluqtiq—Cal—chuckled. “I imagine not. Unalaq was very stingy with who he shared it with. I don’t think he even trained his children. Just the wisest—meaning stuffiest and most conservative—spiritual leaders. _I_ had to learn it watching newsreels of the Avatar defeating him.”

Tenzin’s chopsticks stuck in the air on the way up. “You taught yourself? From newsreels?”

Nuktik beamed beside her. “To be fair,” she said, “there _was_ an awful lot of footage. Every camera in the city was watching, which gave me probably fifteen or twenty different angles to learn from. Since she was the size of a building at the time, details were easy to make out.”

He’d seen one or two of those films himself. “Fascinating idea. I’d thought movers were only good for newsreels and mindless flimflam, like that Nuktuk series.”

Cal’s son groaned. She rolled his eyes, rubbing his short hair. “Nuktik doesn’t appreciate how often people compare his name to that.”

“I thought _really hard_ about it, and that musclehead ruined it!”

“It’s not ruined, honey.”

Nuktik had thought hard about his name? Perhaps a Northern tradition he wasn’t aware of. “What made you wish to learn spiritbending in the first place?”

Cal opened her mouth to answer, but her eyes went to the door behind Tenzin. So did Nuktik, and his eyes grew wide.

Tenzin smiled, not needing to turn to know who elicited such a reaction. He stood and turned to greet him. “Uncle Zuko.”

“Tenzin,” the former Fire Lord offered him a quick hug. Tenzin had to stoop. “I’m sorry to just now be greeting you. I had to take Druk back… well you don’t need the details, suffice it to say there will be a few more dragons in the world.”

“I’m glad,” Tenzin said, guiding him to the table.

“And you two must be Caluqtiq and Nuktik.” He gave each of them a bow.

“I’m honored,” Caluqtiq said, tilting her head with dignity.

“You’re Lord Zuko!” Nuktik finally said. “Katara’s friend!”

Zuko raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “Yes, I am. We don’t see each other as often as I’d like. She doesn’t leave the South Pole much these days. But I’m glad to have the help of not one, but two strong waterbenders. I bet you’re barely any older than she was when she first found Aang, are you?”

“Fourteen,” Nuktik agreed, his gaze darting from Zuko to his mother and back, grinning like only a child can.

“Well, I know from old experience better than to get on the bad side of a fourteen year old waterbending prodigy.”

The boy looked ready to faint.

Zuko must've decided he'd laid on the flattery thick enough, and took a seat across from his newest friend and pouring himself a cup of tea. “Now, eat up, all three of you. My daughter filled me in on this spirit matter. She has many affairs of state to take care of, and would like for me to take over helping you.”

Tenzin let out a breath. “Thank you, Lord Zuko. I appreciate that immensely.”

“I’m sure you do,” he said, sipping his tea.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

‘Guess I’ll have to keep looking.’ What was she thinking! Tsu Ying took her pillow and pressed it down against her face.

Stupid. Stupid.

“Want me to turn off the light?” Shu asked, reading a newspaper on the bunk beneath hers, as he did most nights.

“Mff mrrflet mm mfft mnddt.”

“Try again without the pillow.”

She flopped her arms down, the pillow slamming against her waist. “I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m just an idiot.’”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because I say things only an idiot would say.”

“Hmm. Guess you have it figured out then.”

She frowned, leaning over the side of the bunk. Her braid dangled down halfway to Shu’s mattress. He glanced up, setting aside his paper and scratching his mustache.

“You know, for a duty partner, you’re not very supportive.”

“Of course I am. I just agreed with you, didn’t I?”

Tsu Ying glared. Footsteps rushed past their doorway.

He shrugged. “You want supportive? How about covering for you when you decide to go chase that boyfriend of yours.”

“I'm not—”

Shu arched an eyebrow.

Tsu Ying rolled on her back, growling. “Am I that obvious?”

Shu laughed.

“Shut up.”

“You’re the one talking.”

“You…” more footsteps rushed past, excited muttering along with them. “That seem like a weird amount of activity to you, this time of night?”

“A bit, yeah.” Shu stood up, groaning as he always did at his old back injury. He peeked out the door.

Tsu Ying had an itch. An itch like she’d gotten before the warlord attacked Guanlin. There was an energy in the air. Quickly and quietly, she was behind him, peeking over his shoulder. “Who’s out there?”

“Zaofu guards. Talking to Commander Li. Pointing a lot.”

She recognized their commanding officer just in time to see his face turn grim.

“Shu—”

“Blast. Feels like I just took my damned uniform _off_.”

They were fully dressed by the time a knock came on their door. It opened seconds later. “Alright, out of—oh. You’re already up.”

“We got the sense that something else is,” Tsu Ying said. “Up, I mean.”

Shu grunted.

“Rather,” Commander Li said. “The phones out of the city are out. In every direction.”

“The Earth army we misplaced?”

“We don’t know,” the Commander said, with a look that told her not to speculate. “The Zaofu guard has requested our assistance patrolling the city.”

More like, the garrison was comically undermanned to actually defend the city if the remnant army attacked. “No alarm?” she asked.

Commander Li shook his head. “And we want to keep it that way, for now. Defending the city will be hard enough as it is; if there’s panic or riots, it becomes impossible. Go muster in the courtyard.”

“Yessir,” they both said, strapping on their helmets and stepping into the night.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Caluqtiq asked Tenzin for the ninth time, looking over the side of Oogi’s saddle, toward the dragon her son was riding with Zuko.

“As I said, it’s not the most comfortable ride, compared to a sky bison, but Lord Zuko will not allow Nuktik to be harmed.”

Caluqtiq nodded. The way Druk slithered across the sky, like a kite in a thunderstorm… she could hear Nuktik’s excited yelps in the wind from time to time, and had to force herself calm.

“We’re not far now,” Tenzin said. “Nuktik can ride back with us, if you like.”

She closed her eyes. “No. No, he’d be disappointed.”

Tenzin chuckled. “Those newsreels of Korra fighting Unavaatu? Remember the bright glowing light that descended from the sky?”

“Yes. That was… if I recall, that was your eldest. Jin… Jinora?”

“That’s right. She had mastered an airbending technique, spirit projection, a feat that I have never managed myself. It had gotten her captured and nearly killed just before that. And there she was, risking her life again to help the Avatar save the world. All I could do was trust her to do it.”

Cal curled her legs under her, watching her child travel in the care of a man who had himself worn the world on his shoulders as a child. “Master Tenzin, we’re honored to be here, and glad to help but… I need to know Nuktik will be safe. The world hasn’t been kind to its children.” Nuktik in particular.

“I… of course. I hope you did not feel pressured to expose your son to danger?”

The dragon danced against the sky, joyful and free of the burdensome earth below. What more could she want for her child? “He’s always been in danger. I… never mind.” That wasn’t something to burden Tenzin with, not right now. “The one thing my son has taught me, again and again, is that he is stronger and wiser and better than any of the adults that create the wars we send our children to fight. He’s sure he can do this. And honestly, I know he can too. But… all the same, if something _does_ go wrong, I need to be there. To pick him up, to take the hit, whatever it takes.”

“I… understand,” Tenzin said. Words she’d heard before in her life, again and again, from people who went on to prove how little they truly did. How little they cared to.

But Tenzin. Between his own children and his guardianship of the Avatar… perhaps Tenzin truly did. “May I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Cal.”

“Your children. All of them are airbenders?”

“The eldest three are. Rohan is barely more than a toddler, he hasn’t bent anything yet, but we don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”

Four children. Did the man shave his hair, or had he pulled it all out from stress? “Knowing how much danger they’ve been in, because of who they are. Isolated, targeted even. Did you ever wish, maybe that they _weren’t_ benders?”

“Never,” he answered at once. “For a long time, we were the only hope to restore the Air Nation.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on children.”

“I know,” Tenzin sighed. “I remember.”

Nuktik’s laughs drew her from her reverie as Druk flew close. “We are near the town,” Zuko shouted across the distance, pointing.

A brown smudge blotted the horizon ahead, smoke and ash wafting into the sky. She covered her mouth. “I didn’t realize the attacks were that bad!”

“They haven’t been,” Tenzin said, stroking his long beard. “Kuodan is an industrial center. This… may be normal.”

Caluqtiq let out a breath. “Well, as your trained Northern adviser on spirits and spirit behavior… _that_ is probably your problem right there.”

“I imagine so.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Bolin set a glass of water on Mako’s coffee table, settling down on the couch. With electricity back—yay!—the sparsely-decorated apartment was mostly livable again, almost. Kinda. So maybe there was a strange musty smell in the hallway outside, and some animal droppings, and no food in any of the cabinets and nowhere open nearby to buy it, but… this couch though. Still really comfortable.

It’s not like he was avoiding Air Temple Island while Eska was there. Lurking. Not at all like that.

He grabbed a sip of his water, then instantly spat it out. It was… pretty red, come to look at it. And gravelly. He earthbent the sediment out, dropping it into the sink with a wet _plop_ , and tried the water again. Was metallic an okay taste? He set the water back down.

He’d missed the ferry, was all. Worked too late, had dinner with some of the guys from the site, couldn’t make it to the Air Temple. Opal would understand.

No, she wouldn’t. She’d call him ridiculous. She’d put her pretty hands on her pretty hips and squint her pretty eyes in a very not-pretty way and he’d have to explain himself.

It’s just weird being around Eska, he’d say.

That’s why you need to _confront her_! Opal would reply, and he’d agree because she was always right.

Except she wasn’t always right, was she? Nobody was _always_ right. Eska certainly hadn’t been, but he’d never disagreed with her. Bad things happened when he tried that. Like betrothals and haircuts.

Opal wasn’t like that though. She actually liked him. She _laughed_ at his jokes, not at _him_.

She was still always right though.

Bolin frowned, holding the glass of water against his head. It wasn’t particularly cold, but he pretended it was. He knew he wasn’t smart like Asami, or observant like Mako. He wasn’t always the best judge of people—he always wanted to see the best in them. Shady Shin, Varrick, Eska, Kuvira… they’d all taken advantage of him for it. Heck, the Equalists probably could have put up a ‘free cookies for benders’ poster and he’d have bought it.

But… that was good, right? Thinking the best of people? Korra said that’s how she beat Kuvira, by understanding her, by knowing her perspective. Understanding what good she was trying to accomplish.

Okay maybe those weren’t the same thing. But how about Lin? She spent all her time thinking the worst of everyone, and she was so unused to smiling it freaked everyone out when she did it. That was _way_ worse than being too trusting, right?

Opal would think so. She’d say he was sweet.

And Opal was always right.

No, no no no. Eska being around was making him crazy paranoid. Opal was sweet and kind and smart and beautiful. He loved her and she loved him, and he trusted her, and she was a Beifong. That gave her credibility too, right?

Bataar Junior was a Beifong too. Thought admittedly, not as pretty.

Bolin took an absentminded sip of water, then wrinkled his nose and spat it out.

“Man, I’m making a mess.” Mako would know, when he got back. Mako _always_ knew.

A knock came on the window. Bolin yelped, the glance leaping out of his hands. He grabbed for it, bouncing it off his fingers, off his knuckles, off his nose, and straight onto the floor.

“Great.”

The window knocked again, and this time he checked to see who. Opal, waving from atop Juicy’s back. His grin was instant as he went over to let her in, and erased everything he’d been thinking about her. She slid in through the window, falling into his arms. His girlfriend was magical—she knew just where he was, knew how to find him, so they could spend an evening without

Eska was in the window too.

Bolin froze, like a spooked rabbit deer.

“Are you going to help me through the window?” Eska asked, the wind wafting through her flat hair.

His throat creaked.

Opal wrapped her arms around one of his. “You’re just going to have to climb off the sky bison and come through the window like a normal person.”

The Northern chief frowned at this, sliding off Juicy’s side and through the window, feet first. Her outer robe peeled up as it was caught in the frame, thankfully revealing a tighter inner robe. She stopped about halfway through, wobbling on her back. “This is most undignified.”

The display was utterly ridiculous. Bolin started to chuckle, then outright laugh. He’d been afraid of this woman? Why? She was powerful and confident, but look at her now? Defeated by a window frame.

She stopped struggling. “I require assistance.”

Bolin covered his mouth, stifling his laughter. Opal pulled him aside. “Allow me,” she said, twisting her hands in the air, than hauling them inward.

A gust of air plowed Eska through the window, laying her out flat on the floor. Her hair splayed around her head just as her robes tangled around her torso. She saw Bolin laughing, and scowled.

His breath caught—and escaped as a guffaw. She was just too… just too…

“Perhaps you overstated yourself, Opal,” Eska said, bending at her waist then rising fluidly to her feet. “He does not appear to be intimidated.”

“ _That_ entrance wouldn’t have intimidated an actual turtle duck,” Opal said.

“Indeed. Let us not speak of it again. However, the purpose of this visit seems moot.”

“Eska…” Opal warned.

The waterbender sighed. “Very well. Bolin! Attend.”

Her restored dignity gave the command its familiar bite. He caught himself from jumping toward her, glancing at Opal for support. A glance from her gave all that he needed. “I will not attend, Eska. I will, however, listen to what you have to say. For we are all mature adults and may speak of our problems thusly.”

Bolin turned to Opal. Was that good? She gave him a grin and a thumbs up.

Eska’s eyes flitted between them. “Your pairing is very well suited.”

“Uh… thanks?”

“That was not what I came here to say. That was merely an observation.” Eska sighed. “This task is difficult. I apologize for any awkwardness I may convey.”

“You were halfway there, Eska,” Opal encouraged.

Eska tilted her head. “So I was. Curious. Bolin, I came here to apologize for how I treated you. I was not kind. I am now aware of the strain this placed on our relationship.”

“Like we talked about…” Opal said.

Eska rolled her eyes. “Fine. My treatment of you dishonored myself and my tribe. I lament that the memory of our fiery passion is marred by my behavior. I request forgiveness.”

That was… certainly not something Bolin ever expected to hear. For a lot of reasons. Opal nudged his ribs. “Oh, right. Um, request... granted?”

“Excellent,” Eska said. “We shall platonically hug. If… you and your girlfriend find that acceptable.”

As weird as it felt, Bolin never could turn down a hug.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Kuodan was on edge before they even landed. Pikemen and soldiers with odd tubular affairs strapped across their back patrolled the makeshift battlements, watching their approach warily. The forest was cut back for miles in every direction, pocked here and there with scorch marks or long gashes.

It reminded Zuko far too much of the battlefields of his childhood. What as going on? How could Izumi not know about it?

Or worse, what if she did?

Within the city itself, ash-faced workers walked the streets. Most of them wore drab, functional browns, thick boots, and short, jagged hair—none of the sophistication or finery on display in Capital City. Everyone moved in close groups, huddled together, some of them sporting crimson armbands and huddled furthest from the rest. Some of them carried clubs, watching the soldiers on the battlements as warily as the soldiers watched the forest.

“Something is very wrong here,” Tenzin said as they walked to where they’d been told they’d find the people in charge.

“Yes,” Zuko agreed, stroking under his chin. Those armbands were the only spot of color in the town. They clearly denoted something, though whether it was something good or bad was yet to be seen. All the weaponry, on the other hand, was less ambiguous.

Whatever the trouble in the city was, their arrival seemed to put it on hold. Soldiers and citizens both recognized their former Fire Lord; almost as many worked out who Tenzin was. The tattoos did make going incognito difficult. They both received respectful half-bows—but groups muttered to each other after they passed. Cal and Nuktik said nothing, but felt the tension in the town, sticking close behind their guides.

Finally, they came to a four story building, just outside the entrance to the mine the city had sprang up around. Zuko stepped out of the muddy streets, past the stunned guards at the door, letting himself in.

“—won’t work!” snarled a man in an adjacent room. Tenzin and Zuko looked at each other, walking toward the voice.

The man had his eyes closed, a phone pressed to his ear as he leaned hard onto a desk utterly buried in paperwork. More documents piled up around the desk, stacked from the floor nearly to the height of the desk itself.

His expression grew dark. He turned toward the desk—away from the newcomers. “That was before you made me put the petrol plant upstream. Weeds don’t even grow in it anymore, I can’t have the men… dammit I’m not talking about convenience, I’m talking about people actually dying. How would that impact your bottom line?!”

The man turned jerkily, barely noticing Zuko and the others, then nearly dropping the phone once he’d gotten a look at them. “I have to go. The Fire Lord is here. No, the one who retired! Her dad! No, I’m not—”

Zuko strode forward, taking the telephone from the man. “This is Lord Zuko. May I ask who I’m talking to?”

The man he’d taken the phone slumped into his chair. A stack of papers toppled to the floor. The man made a fist, wincing at the sounds, but did not move to pick them up.

“Lord Zuko,” muttered the man on the receiver.

“No, that would be me,” Zuko smirked. “I was looking for your name.”

The voice coughed. “Yes, right. Rotien Hong, Pinnacle Conglomerates.”

The name meant nothing to him, but Pinnacle was one of the largest manufacturers in the Fire Nation. “I see. And the man I interrupted?”

“Boss Taka. He runs Kuodan for me.”

Zuko eyed the avalanche of paperwork. “I see that as well. You should know that I am here to investigate the situation in Kuodan.” Let Hong figure out what he meant by that. “Can I expect Taka’s assistance in the matter?”

“Of course, Lord Zuko.” Hong’s voice was too smooth by far.

“Thank you.” He hung up, passing the telephone back. “Boss Taka?”

The man nodded. “Don’t need to ask who you are. Plenty of other questions though.”

“I have many as well. But first, perhaps, a solution. We overheard the argument about the river. Cal, Nuktik, do you think you could do something to help clean up the town’s water? At least for the short term?”

“We’ll do it!” Nuktik answered immediately.

Cal smiled fondly, rolling her eyes. “We’ll see what we can do, at least.”

Zuko turned back to Boss Taka. “Things felt rather tense out there. Will my waterbending friends be safe?”

“Waterbenders?” Taka wondered allowed, noticing their skin tone beneath the borrowed Fire Nation attire. “Yes, yes I’m sure they will be. Everybody needs to drink.” He laughed at that.

Zuko did not. “Tenzin, all the same, would you mind going with them? Until we’re sure what’s going on here, I’d rather not take any risks.”

“What about yourself?” Tenzin asked.

Ah, Tenzin. The boy never could hear subtext. “Boss Taka and I have much to discuss, I think.” Taka withered under his gaze, staring at the floor. Zuko turned toward Tenzin, who was still standing in the doorway. “Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in later.”

That seemed to satisfy him. “Very well.” He gave Zuko a half bow, thought a moment, then gave Boss Taka a half nod as well before guiding Cal and Nuktik out the door.

Zuko let out a breath. A good man, Tenzin, always with the best of intentions, but sometimes overbearing. He’d watched how Aang sauntered into situations and shook them apart like only an Avatar could, and somehow assumed that was how all airbending masters should act. No, if there was some rot festering within the Fire Nation, best to keep Tenzin out of it, for now.

He glanced around the room. “Ah.” He spotted a free chair near the wall, and dragged it toward Boss Taka’s desk so he could sit, facing the man. “Perhaps you could tell me what’s going on here?”

“Sure,” Boss Taka laughed, barely moving. “Why not?”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Torru rose early—his hips seldom let him sleep through the night any longer. The quarters they had given him were uncomfortably comfortable; when all his comrades in Lao slept on woven cots or ratty blankets, how was he to sleep on silk and down? Yet his hosts had politely insisted this was his only option. Already, they put the lie to Zaofu’s supposed freedoms. Not that any of its people were easily convinced, but he’d never thought somewhere as comfortable as this would be fruitful for his message.

He stepped out to find some food—what was the use of a room so large without somewhere to prepare a meal? Electric lamps lit the streets even at this late hour. The previous nights, he’d had the city mostly to himself, save some night patrols. Tonight, guards and White Lotus were both out in force, rushing every which way.

Quietly observing, he continued on. The all-night diner he frequented had been reasonable enough to allow him to work some time in exchange for leftover food—he had no money, after all. Besides, sometimes workers would amble in on one end or the other of a night shift, and they tended to be far more interested in hearing about the way things worked in Lao.

He did not, however, expect to be greeted at the door.

“Brother Torru,” Rong said, holding it open for him. The student was bright-eyed and young, invested with that healthy sense of fair play that seldom survived into one’s twenties. That sort of enthusiasm was exactly what the world needed. “I was hoping to find you here. Have you heard?”

“I’m not quite ‘in the loop’ with the authorities here, Brother Rong,” Torru chuckled. “Seems they’re mighty energetic about something though.”

Rong glanced both directions, the sort of gesture of secrecy that would only attract the attention he wanted to avoid. “Kuvira’s army. The one still out in the countryside. It’s going to start a siege. They cut off the rail and phone lines to Republic City.”

Torru cracked his back, thinking. “Distressing news. They haven’t surrounded the city yet, though?”

Rong shook his head. “My sister, Eifa, is in the guard, she told me an hour ago.” That meaning his sister by birth, not by ideology. “I talked to the rest of the student council, and we all agree Zaofu isn’t ready to hear about a revolution, no matter what we do. Especially not if there’s an army surrounding it. But if we could get to Ba Sing Se…”

The old man frowned. “Wish that we could. It’s a sight longer than these legs can walk, though.”

Rong grinned. “Eifa knows where Suyin keeps her jeeps. Perhaps it is time for the people to liberate them?”

“You’re not worried ‘bout your city being taken? Again?”

Rong blinked. “Brother Torru, you don’t mean you want us to stay and help fight for the Beifongs’ private kingdom?”

“Not for them, no.” Honestly, moneyed and privileged as Suyin Beifong clearly was, she was also no slave to tradition. Perhaps, if she could be made to understand how unequal and exploitive her system truly was, she could be convinced to improve it. “But your families? Friends?”

“Beifong has friends of her own. Right now, Ba Sing Se is waiting, representatives from all over the old Kingdom are waiting, and she and the Republic City fat cats are going to get stuck here. We’re not going to get a better opportunity than this!”

Torru clapped a hand on the younger man’s shoulders. A lot of weight was going to fall on them—he needed that kind of commitment. “Maybe we should go talk to your sister, Rong.”

The student revolutionary smiled. “This way.”

 

 

***

 

 

Nuktik and his mother stood by the river, working in concert as curious workers and soldiers looked on. She bent river water into a thick fog, leaving all the runoff and pollutants behind; he swirled it overhead and condensed it, creating a miniature rainstorm into the city’s cistern. It was slow-going, but the water was just so icky they couldn’t think of any better way to clean it.

He felt all the eyes crawling over his back. As always, he tried to ignore them. They didn’t know anything about him or mom, they probably just hadn’t seen waterbending before. And it had probably been a long time since they’d drank clean water.

How could the Fire Lord let her people live like this? He’d always heard of the Fire Nation as being incredibly advanced and organized, almost detached in their tropical utopia. Kuodan was grimy and ramshackle, and its people looked half-wild. Was the Fire Nation’s reputation another one of those polite lies adults tell each other?

Master Tenzin paced between them in the crowd, frowning continually. As if he were wondering the same thing.

Mom raised another thick layer of mist. Something splashed within it. They both paused, frowning. Had somebody leapt into the—

Three shadows erupted from the fog, like man-sized coy fish, glowing black. Long tentacle whiskers writhed out about their mouths.

“Dark spirits!” Tenzin shouted, the crowd already scrambling away.

Nuktik set his footing as his mom dropped the mists. The spirits shot from the water, continuing to swim above it, darting toward the waterbenders. He set a water jet into their midst, forcing them to scatter as he rushed to put distance between his mother and himself. One spirit followed, a jet of sludge spraying where he’d just been.

He came out of a roll, sparing a glance at the other two spirits. His mother was already beginning to pacify one, thin tendrils of water spiraling around it. Tenzin had the other stuck in a whirlwind, shouting, “Spirits, please! Tell us how we may satisfy you!”

Nuktik _tsk_ ed, focusing on his own opponent. Talking to the spirits when they were already enraged? The airbender should know better than to waste his breath.

The spirit careened toward him, forcing him to roll aside painfully against the river rock. He gathered water behind him as he did, pulling it out into tendrils, ready to surround the spirit fish on its next pass.

But it didn’t come for him. Instead, it darted toward his mother as she focused on cleansing her own.

“Mom!” he shouted, sending a stream after his spirit. Too slow.

“Take over!” she shouted, raising an ice wall seconds before his spirit hit it.

Nuktik snapped into motion, grabbing the tendrils around the spirit she’d been cleansing just as they started to fall. He spiraled his arms, following the peaceful, soothing motions of spiritual cleansing. The glow within the water grew, the darkness in the spirit subsided. The tension in its body relaxed. It regarded him placidly for a moment as he bowed, then blew away like a pile of light snow.

Two left.

Master Tenzin and his mother were on the run still, the airbender’s spirit assaulting him with more blasts of sewage water. Tenzin was far more nimble than a man his size and age should be, but still he had to use air blasts to keep from being hit—splattering the hissing muck all over as he did. The sizzle it made on the rocks was enough to tell him not to let it touch his skin.

Nuktik rushed to help Tenzin, trusting his mother to handle herself. He diverted the muck-stream directly, spiraling it behind him and back toward his opponent. It was too filthy to perform a cleansing with, but if he could goad it back toward the river—

The spirit fish jerked to the side, its tail breaking the stream apart, showering it toward them. Tenzin flipped himself forward, creating a heavy gust and sending the spray away from the town.

Rushing feet and clinking armor came from Kuodan. Nuktik ignored it—there was nothing the soldiers could do against a furious spirit. But there wouldn’t be much he could do without some clean water to cleanse it. “Tenzin!” he shouted, nodding toward the cistern. “Throw me that way!”

Tenzin didn’t hesitate, a gust of air rising with a gesture to hurl Nuktik where he’d asked. He pulled water up while he flew, surrounding his body and slowing his fall. The dark spirit rushed after, its eyes furious and as red as the armbands the townsfolk wore.

He’d never tried holding himself up with a water column while spirit cleansing before, but he didn’t have time to put himself down. Nothing for it but to make it work. Biting his lip, he shot a dozen thin jets toward the spirit, steering it toward the cistern. It obliged.

Too well.

Nuktik’s eyes shot wide, realizing his mistake a second too late as the spirit crashed through the wooden supports, sending a wave of water crashing toward the knot of guards that was… kneeling in formation?

Whatever they were doing, they wouldn’t be able to get out of the way in time. He pulled himself into the water column, streaming through it as it collapsed toward the earth, pulling himself up and into the wave itself. He spun himself back out with a gasp, turning it all to ice before it could hit the scattering soldiers.

He wobbled for a moment, catching his breath, surprised he’d managed to pull that off. He knew he should be moving, he didn’t have the time to collect himself, especially as the spirit swooped overhead, glaring down at him in hate. His step faltered.

“Fire!” somebody shouted, and an unholy sound erupted from behind the ice.

The spirit spasmed in the air, streams of black ichor exploding out its back. More loud bangs sounded as the spirit turned, listing to one side, dark ooze bleeding from its skin.

“Hold—!” the voice shouted, and Nuktik held his breath. What was happening? What could do that to— “Fire!”

Another report shook the ice.

The spirit fell, splashing to the ground in a black, glowing ooze. Not cleansed. Not placated.

Dead.

Nuktik trembled. His mother and Tenzin were caught in their tracks as they’d been rushing to his aid, their faces as shocked as his. Mom covered her mouth, holding back tears. To see something so timeless and sacred, destroyed in its anger…

What had they done?

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

After a few long, glowing moments and gasping breaths, Asami nestled against Korra's back. The Avatar cooed happily, lifting her head long enough for Asami to wriggle her arm beneath it. She thought of pulling a blanket up to cover them both, but Korra ran so hot she’d wind up kicking it off before long.

Korra had had a long, but successful day. She’d gotten in a competition with an entire earthbending crew to see who build more apartment rooms in one shift. Asami wasn’t sure if she’d channeled her competitive streak on purpose, but at this rate, the displaced citizens would all have somewhere to go by the end of the month. Maybe even those who had been homeless before.

The business center and infrastructure was to be built on new ground, still being surveyed, but the contracts were starting to come in, big and small. The seed money from the sale to Raiko, coupled with all the furniture and belongings she’d sold from her estate, were enough to convince surviving banks she was worth the risk for loans. If they couldn’t get an insurance payout, the company would still end the year in the red—but it would still be around. She could build up from there.

Asami stroked Korra’s hand absentmindedly, enjoying the warmth of her, the smell, the weight. From the sound of her breathing, she was already asleep. Asami knew she should join her, too.

But for now, she nuzzled into Korra’s hair, smiling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nuktik and Caluqtiq from last chapter are probably the last major OCs I'll be introducing for a while, so gave them some screen time this chapter so we can get a feel for them. 
> 
> Tsu Ying and Torru too... I really didn't expect to spend that much time with OCs in this chapter. But it's a wide world and I prefer several POVs to work with. 
> 
> But hey, we've got more canon cast now too! Zuko, how ya doing? 
> 
> Okay I don't have much to say about this chapter. It's mostly setup, plotwise. Korra and Asami are barely in it! What gives?! 
> 
> Would type more, but a cat has stolen my arm. As always, feedback is appreciated. Okay that's a lie, it is craved like a zombie craves brains.


	8. Uncomfortable Topics

_Asami’s eyes fluttered open. They were still snuggled up beside each other, leaning back against a tree where they’d stopped for a short rest. She didn’t remember falling asleep, and there was no way to tell how long she’d been out. All she knew was she felt rested. Propped up against a tree with Korra was far more comfortable than the most luxurious mattress money could buy._

_As sore as her muscles were, Korra quieted her mind._

_Nightmares had not troubled her since they’d arrived._

“ _You awake?” Korra asked softly._

“ _Will we have to move if I am?”_

“ _No… but I would like to reposition my legs a little, maybe.”_

_Asami chuckled, shifting her weight while Korra tucked her legs in. Asami was still half-groggy and her back needed a change, so she scooted down to lay her head in Korra’s lap. “Hello,” she said._

“ _Hi,” Korra smiled down, running her fingers through Asami’s hair._

_Asami closed her eyes, going limp. “Mmmhm…”_

_Korra laughed, massaging her scalp “Oh, you enjoy that?”_

“ _Muhmmmhmm.”_

“ _At last, I’ve found your weakness. I vow, I shall use this power only to do good.”_

_Asami had turned into a woman-shaped puddle. She didn’t have the energy even to mutter. Korra’s touch, her fingers in her hair, petting her softly, lovingly… It was intimate, in a way even their kissing wasn’t. Her legs, her arms, all her body fell away. All that was left, all she was, was the skin beneath Korra’s fingers. And she could tell, she could feel, that that was the only thing in the world that mattered to Korra._

_How long since she had felt this way?_

_Had she ever?_

_Not with Mako. Not with any of the other boys. Not with any of the girls, either, halting and nervous as that had been._

_An image came, fuzzy, more forgotten than remembered: her mother. She had lain like this, her head in Yasuko’s lap, her mother petting her and reading a story, singing a song, talking to her father as he worked._

_Korra’s fingers lifted._

“ _Don’t stop,” Asami whispered._

“ _You’re frowning.” Still, Korra did as she asked._

_Asami felt the frown. Why? Because she’d missed her mother? The image didn’t come with pain, anymore. It had been so long, so distant. She thought of her mother, now and felt only… regret. Wistfulness, even. Something she’d lost. Something she might have had. If the world was fair._

_Korra’s fingers felt wonderful. Not thrilling, not exciting. Calm and loving and_ there _._

_Why was she frowning?_

“ _Is there something else I should be doing?” Korra asked._

_Asami shook her head, weakly._

_Korra’s fingers continued gliding through her hair. “Okay.” She sounded a trifle confused, but patient. Willing to sit there all day and pet Asami’s hair if she wanted it._

_She had never had this._

_Nobody she’d been with, never had she had someone who would just… touch her. Hold her. With no end in mind, with no goal or aim other than to make her feel nice._

_Three years ago, she’d knelt by Korra’s side. She’d taken her hand. She’d offered to be there, if Korra needed to talk. Or anything. She’d known by then she was in love, her heart broke every time she’d seen her shattered friend. She’d have done anything for her. She’d have left her company. She’d have tended her and nursed her to health. She’d have climbed into the sky and plucked down the moon and the stars for her if it would have made Korra better._

_But what she’d wanted to give was this._

_She’d wanted Korra to know,_ needed _Korra to know, that somebody was there. Somebody cared, somebody was with her. She wasn’t alone._

_Korra hadn’t been ready to hear it._

_Maybe… maybe Asami hadn’t realized how ready_ she _had been? She wanted to give that to Korra so much, because that was what she needed herself?_

“ _I tried to date,” Asami said._

“ _Um… okay.” Korra’s fingers continued._

_Asami wasn’t sure where she was going, why she was saying it this way. She just knew she had to. “You were gone a long time. I didn’t know when you were coming back, or if you were… if you even felt for me like I did for you. You were gone a long time.”_

“ _It’s alright, Asami. You don’t need to explain.”_

_Asami sighed. She was no longer relaxed, but the fingers stroking her hair… they were enough. Enough to continue. “I wasn’t very good at it. I’ve never been very good. Nobody ever saw me. Not really. Nobody understood. Nobody did… this.”_

“ _You were lonely.”_

_The simple phrase cracked something inside her. She’d danced around the thought for so long. Mom, dead. Father, distant. Long empty hallways in the mansion, no siblings, no playmates. Private boarding school, top of her class. Youngest CEO in the business world, daughter of a traitor, shunned for her parentage, set apart by her success. “I think… I think maybe I’ve_ always _been lonely.”_

_Korra’s other hand cradled her cheek as she bent down to kiss her. “So was I.”_

_Was._

_The word flowed through those cracks, filling her up. Mending her. Binding her._

_Asami wasn’t alone anymore._

_Asami wasn’t alone._

_The frown was gone. Overwhelmed._

“ _That,” Asami said, locking eyes on Korra’s upside-down face, “was exactly the right thing to say.”_

_Korra smiled. “Well. First time for everything.”_

 

 

***

 

 

Asami straightened Korra’s collar—which was in no way crooked, but she needed to touch her and it seemed credible. “You’ll send a message when you arrive?”

“ _And_ before we leave. Asami…” she grabbed her girlfriend's hand, clutching it against her chest. “I’ll be fine. You know I can handle myself in the Spirit World. Plus Naga and Jinora are coming too. It’ll be safer than sailing, trust me.”

She knew how quickly things could go sideways in the Spirit World, too. “I know. I just…”

Korra’s lips brushed hers. “You’re gonna miss me,” she teased.

“What?” She kissed her back. “The constant distractions?” Kissed her again. “The late nights?”

“Extremely late,” Korra purred.

“The suggestive banter, can’t forget that.” Asami kissed hard, then pulled back, making a show of straightening Korra’s clothes again. “You’re sure they’re going to be okay?”

Korra nodded firmly, though her eyes weren’t so sure. “They were willing to put up with Mako, after all.”

Asami laughed. She’d met Korra’s parents before—spirits, she’d saved Tonraq’s life two, maybe three times? He and Senna adored their daughter beyond reason, and after the pain and anguish they'd watched Korra live through in the last few years, there was no way something that made Korra _happy_ would be greeted with anything but joy. Every logical bit of her brain told her Korra's parents would accept their relationship without question. But still, the idea of meeting them again, _officially_ , as their daughter’s girlfriend… especially considering that Tonraq was raised in the Northern tribe, with all its tradition…

She cleared her throat, pushing the thought away. “Well, at least I know I’ll get some work done while you’re gone.”

“I’m sure.” Korra favored her with a cockeyed grin.

Her heart still fluttered at that. Spirits, that smile. She looked down. “And… you’re sure you’ll be okay, going back to those portals? Around the Tree of Time?”

Korra shrugged. “I’m not looking to have fun, I’m looking to get there fast. There shouldn’t be any battles for the world there this time. Just… memories.”

She squeezed Korra’s hand. “Those can hurt, too.” Korra had told her about the nightmares. Asami had yet to share her own.

Korra drew their hands upward, turning them so she could kiss Asami’s fingers, one by one.

How could she be so lucky? How had she survived three years without her?

Their foreheads pressed together. They stared at each other, their hands unwilling to move.

This could take a while.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Lin yawned after another late night, overseeing more and more citizens flowing out of trains and back into their city. So far, things had gone incredibly well—which only sharpened her paranoia.

“Chief Beifong!” asked a man in a trench coat, camera around his neck. Spirits, another reporter.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” she sneered, pointedly looking away from him.

“Just a few questions. The _Herald_ is going back into circulation tomorrow, we want to do a whole spread on how you’ve kept the city safe.”

“The world knows that even a giant mecha suit won’t knock us out. How much safer can we get?”

The reporter gave a fake laugh. “Just so! But I was referring more to your late night work with the Avatar? My sources say you’ve got so many triad toughs behind bars that you’ve had to triple-bunk the cells. Any truth to that?”

Lin covered her smirk with a grunt. Korra had given her a very successful night. Too bad the leadership was still at large, but there was only so much they could do without all that muscle. “Why don’t you ask your sources?”

“Because the Chief of Police makes better copy!”

“Hmf.”

The reporter scratched something in his notepad. “Okay, Chief, how ‘bout this then? Any truth to the rumors about the Avatar and—”

“You there, sergeant!” Lin said, calling out one of her cops at random and stalking toward him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The poor sergeant stared at her, startled. “Chief! Ma’am, I’m just—”

“Just play along with me, will ya?” she muttered quietly, then shouted, “I can see what you’re _trying_ to do, but why not do it somewhere that makes a lick of sense?”

He caught on. “Right. Sorry, Chief.” He let himself be led, and Lin walked into the crowd.

The sergeant chuckled. “Press hounding you again?”

“Vultures wasps.” Not that Korra and Asami seemed to be doing much to hide their involvement, but she certainly wasn’t going to give the press the satisfaction. Besides, they’d only bother her more if she ever actually told them something. “Everything going smoothly?”

“On this end, sure. The people still in the camps aren’t too happy.”

“The people still in the camps are the ones whose homes were destroyed.”

“Don’t gotta tell me, Chief.”

She glanced back at her perch. The reporter had warned off. “Alright, break’s over. Back to work.”

“Sure thing,” the sergeant chuckled, returning to directing the crowd.

Lin stepped out, and stifled a curse. The reporter hadn’t gone, he’d found better prey. Who had now spotted her himself, and was waving her over.

“Mister President,” Lin said, nodding at him. The reporter she ignored entirely.

“Lin, so glad to run into you. I was just discussing our success here with Mr. Hon of the _Republic City Herald_. Wouldn’t you say this whole rebuilding and re-population process has gone remarkably well?”

Lin shrugged. “Considering we had less of a plan to bring everyone back than we did to evacuate, sure.”

Hon scratched furiously in his notebook. “Would you say the United Republic is safe from any further outside aggression?”

Raiko laughed. “Not that I can think of anybody who is in the position to attack us right now, but yes. In fact, I can personally attest to having made efforts to ensure the Republic has the most modern, best-equipped fighting force on the planet.”

“Isn’t that just because of Kuvira’s captured mecha?” the reporter asked.

Lin snorted in spite of herself. The question had bite, and Raiko deserved to be bitten now and then. “We will certainly make use of those, yes. But additionally, we have partnered with Future Industries and Varrick International—the minds behind the best weapons on both sides of the war—to provide us our own new, advanced armaments.”

Great, now they were getting close to two topics Lin wanted nothing to do with.

“Chief Beifong herself has seen some of these weapons in action, she can attest to their effectiveness.”

And there it was. The next election couldn’t come soon enough.

“Is—”

“No comment!” she spat as soon as the reporter turned toward her. None that the President—or Asami—would want her saying to the press at least. She’d seen the rifles demonstrated—she hoped she’d never truly see them in action.

“Speaking of Future Industries,” the reporter continued, pencil poised, “rumors are flying about its CEO—.”

“You’ll have to take that up with Ms. Sato,” Raiko said in a rush, eyes locking on somebody in the crowd. “I’m afraid I see somebody I need to talk to. Another time, Mr. Hon.”

Hon rolled his eyes. Having seen the dodge from the other side, Lin realized how weak it looked. “Sorry,” she said. “Next time I want to blow a reporter off, I’ll just tell you.”

“Appreciated,” Hon said.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

“So,” Korra asked, twisting in Naga's saddle to talk to Jinora. “Any ideas how to jump around on purpose?”

Jinora chuckled. Spiritual matters seemed to come naturally to her, but she’d never actually set foot in the Spirit World before, not in her own body. “You’re the one who spent two weeks here.”

“Yeah,” Korra sighed. “That wasn't exactly what we were focused on. I'd rather get out of here somewhat faster this time. And come to think of it, no running off on your own like you did last time, either!”

“Don’t worry. I remember. Though I would like to give Won Xi Tong a piece of my mind sometime.”

Korra groaned. “Yeah… I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that. But for now, I want to get through as quickly as we can. The sooner we get my dad at a table with Eska and Raiko and us, the sooner Eska can go home.”

“And the sooner you’ll come back to living on the island?” Jinora asked, mischief in her eyes.

Korra sputtered.

“Hey, at least you and Asami get to be together. Dad won’t even let Kai and I do anything without a chaperone. Much less go on missions together.”

“Pff. It took saving the world to get Tenzin to lay off me.”

Jinora held up a finger, touching her chest with her other hand. “Technically, I’ve done that.”

“Technically, you’re his daughter. Kai didn’t exactly make the best first impression. Or second, for that matter.”

“He saved Dad’s life!”

Korra chuckled. “Relax, kiddo. If you two are still together after three years of Tenzin’s protectiveness, you can withstand anything. You’re still really young, and you’ve got way more of life figured out than most of the adults you know.”

Jinora crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. “Why do you think I’m so impatient?”

Both of them laughed at her faux-seriousness.

“It is nice, though,” Jinora said, watching the bright world pass beneath Naga’s comfortable lope. “Growing up, I never thought I’d be able to find another airbender to be with.”

“And so you fall for the first one your age that you meet?”

“That’s… that’s not how it happened at all!”

“Sorry, Jinora, but it kind of is.”

“Ah!” she barked, mock-offended.

“Hey, it’s not like you’re the one who’s dated every member of her team.”

Jinora winced. “That’s not how it happened either.”

Korra shrugged. “No, that kind of is, too. I’m glad we’re all still friends through it, but man, that drama must have been insufferable.”

“Dad certainly thought so. Might be why he’s so hard on me.” She remembered him trying to extract a promise that she would never be so unreasonable in her dating life. She had been wise enough not to agree.

“Sorry.”

Jinora sighed. “Still… I feel lucky, in more ways than one. I’d always sort of thought it would be my responsibility to marry young and be, um… fruitful.”

“What?!” Korra squawked.

“Dad was the _last_ airbender, before we were born. There was all that talk of rebuilding the air nation from scratch, but for that to happen there needed to be more airbenders. It was sort of our duty to the world to—”

“Nope, nope nope this conversation is over!”

Jinora leaned in the saddle to see Korra’s beet-red face. “I’m quite happy that particular calculation isn’t relevant. Not as much as Ikki though.”

“Am I going to regret asking why?”

“Let’s… just say that she and Aunt Kya have a lot in common.”

“Reeaaaaally?” Korra asked, turning back to make sure Jinora was serious.

Jinora nodded. “She’s pretty sure. Hasn’t gotten the courage to tell mom and dad yet, you’ve made that easier for her as well.”

Korra whistled. “Well, I’m glad. And a little jealous! I had to make all sorts of mistakes before realizing what I wanted and who I wanted and that I could even do that. Wish I’d known at her age what I know now.”

“If you knew then what you know now, you’d never have left the South Pole.”

The Avatar grew quiet. That… might have been too true of a statement. “Korra—”

She shook her head. “It’s alright. I was just thinking. You might be wrong. You wouldn’t have been, a month ago. Now…”

“Asami makes that big a difference?”

“Asami makes all the difference in the world.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tenzin descended the stairs of Boss Taka’s headquarters, where they’d commandeered rooms. Lord Zuko was sitting in the small dining room, staring into a candle.

“Is the boy well?” Zuko asked, not looking up.

“It took him some time to fall asleep last night. I’m letting him and Cal both rest for now.” Unless they needed them. “Lord Zuko, how long has this been going on?”

Zuko clasped his hands in front of him, considering. His eyes remained on the flame. “Do you know what happens when a spirit is cleansed?”

Forcing information out of Zuko when he felt pensive was a delicate thing. And if his instincts wished to contemplate a topic, his life and experience usually meant there was something there worth exploring. “I can’t say for sure. As I understand it, the spirit’s essence drifts for a time, eventually reconstituting back where it began, leaving any hate or anger behind.”

“And where does that go?”

Tenzin raised an eyebrow. “The hate and anger?”

Zuko nodded. “Fire is an emotional element. When I was young, all my power came from dark thoughts. Rage, and hate. I burned inside, and so I tried to burn the world. It was power, yes, but without purpose, or control.”

“Like a dark spirit,” Tenzin observed, seeing Zuko’s point.

He nodded. “Fire does not have to be that way, though. Your father and I learned that fire also gives life, and light. It is passionate, and dynamic, like a living thing.” Zuko waved his hand, and the candle went out. “That spirit died, Tenzin. Its essence didn’t return to the spirit world. The darkness we created in it is still out there, a festering pile of muck stinking up half the town.”

The town hadn’t smelt very good to begin with. “What did you learn from Boss Taka?”

Zuko sighed, closing his eyes. “I received a crash course on the last decade of progress at Pinnacle Conglomerates. It seems that the steel mills and manufacturing plants here have traditionally run on steam turbines, powered by firebending. But as the need for power increased and the demand for firebenders went up, the company owners started building coal plants instead. It’s choking the sky and clogging the river, but at least coal doesn’t ask for a raise.”

“Surely, someone has to mine the coal.”

“Oh yes, but not benders. Miners are easy enough to replace, you see.” He turned, meeting Tenzin’s gaze. “Was I wrong, to abdicate?”

Tenzin pulled a chair facing him. “I don’t believe so. Izumi is intelligent and capable, and better served starting her reign young, with you here to advise her.” Whether or not she took his advice was another matter. “Do you think she knows of the conditions here? She rather firmly warned me not to meddle. At the time, I believed she was merely commenting on my tendency to offer spiritual advise when it seems helpful—”

Zuko snorted, a brief glimmer in his eyes that Tenzin chose to ignore.

“—but perhaps she knew there were things going on which I would not approve of.”

Zuko looked away, inward. “Perhaps. Which isn’t to say she approves of them herself. There were quite a few times I was dismayed to discover things my own people were doing—and often I had little power to stop it, either.”

He wanted to give his daughter the benefit of the doubt. Honestly, so did Tenzin. “We’ll have to get more information, before we can come to any conclusions. Did Boss Taka say anything about those awful weapons?”

“No. But it wasn’t his men that did the firing—those were my daughter’s troops.”

“Yes, but if he is in charge of the town, shouldn't they report to him?” Tenzin stroked his beard. “There are an awful lot of troops here. Are they all here to protect against the spirits, or does she fear rebellion?”

“If she truly feared rebellion, would she have sent in you and two foreign benders?”

He leaned back in his chair, relaxing just a little. “She’d be here herself, with half her army.”

Zuko nodded. “And you see how that army is, well, _armed_ , now. Izumi may resent it but we need to resolve this situation before it comes to that.”

“The tensions between the workers and the company may be instigating the dark spirit activity as well. But if we’re to resolve that… we’ll need more information. Even if it works out, Izumi will not be pleased with me.”

Zuko frowned, regarding the unlit candle, his hands squeezing the rests of his chair. Tenzin let him think—this was his nation and his daughter, after all.

Finally, Zuko turned toward him. “What do you say we find out the meaning of those red armbands?”

Tenzin rose. “It’s a good place to start. Red could signify nearly anything.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Mako knocked on the frame of Suyin’s open door. “Suyin? Do you have a minute?”

She was leaning against her desk, indicating an area on a map to her twin sons, Wing and Wei. She glanced at Mako. Spirits, she looked tired. “Does it have anything to do with the army bearing down on us?”

Mako shrugged. “Honestly, probably not. Nobody has seen Torru today.”

She grimaced at the name. “Probably hiding in his room.”

“I checked that. He didn’t answer.”

“The old bat is probably hard of hearing,” she said, waving a hand dismissively.

“I thought that. So I… sort of… broke in.”

Suyin lay her hands on the table, looking up at him. “We do have laws against that here, Mako. In Republic City as well, I believe.”

“I had a hunch. Turns out, I was right. All of his things are gone.”

Zaofu’s matriarch blew a silver tendril of hair from her face. “Mako, I’m the last person who wants a Red Lotus agent loose in her city, but—”

“I kept poking around. A few of the students he’d been talking to are missing, too.”

Suyin’s teeth clicked shut.

“The jeeps, Mom,” Wei said. Or maybe Wing.

She nodded. “I can’t leave the city, not now. And I can’t spare any troops or airships.”

“You want Mako to go after him?” asked Wing, or Wei.

Her hand flipped toward him. “ _He_ wants to go after him. He’s not here for my permission, he’s here for supplies.”

“I know you can’t come,” Mako said, stepping toward her. “But my primary assignment is to see Wu safely to Ba Sing Se. Stopping here made sense when it was a safe harbor, but now—”

“Now you need to get him out of the city before a siege starts.” She blew out a breath, spinning the map so Mako could see it. “The way east should still be open, then the road turns north, toward the desert.”

“I’ve been that way before.”

She met his eyes. “So you have. He’s a high profile target. The whole White Lotus contingent would attract attention, where one or two jeeps could sneak by unnoticed.”

One of the twins snapped his fingers. “And if you happen across another of the delegates for the convention in Ba Sing Se, well, it would only make sense to travel together!”

The other twin punched him in the shoulder. “Obviously! That’s a little thing called ‘subtext,’ Wei. Mom can’t say that because then she’d be involved.”

“I know that!” Wei said, punching back.

“Boys!” Suyin snapped. They looked guilty for a moment, settling down.

Mako chuckled. They reminded him of his brother. Both of them. How tiring would _two_ Bolins be? “I could use backup. Protecting Wu.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t spare it. If Zaofu falls twice in one year, we’ll never see an end to it. But just because the whole White Lotus can’t come, doesn’t mean you can’t take a few. I know they’re interested in Torru as well.”

One face sprang immediately to mind. He nodded. “If you could get a jeep stocked, I’ll be out of here within an hour.”

“Good.” She turned toward her sons. “Wing, Wei. You’re going too.”

“What? You just said you couldn't spare anyone!”

“You need us here to help defend the city!”

“What I _need_ is somebody to represent us in Ba Sing Se who can defend themselves on the way there.”

Wei crossed his arms, almost pouting. Wing put his hands on his sides, more thoughtful.

“Also,” Suyin continued, “I’m not asking. Go provision the jeeps.”

“Right.” “Okay.”

Mako watched the hard look on her face, becoming pained once their backs were turned. Her reasons made sense… but that didn’t mean they were complete.

He met her eyes, and saw the rest of it.

“I’ll keep them safe,” he said.

She hung her head, sighing. Nodding. “Thank you. Good luck, Mako,”

He glanced at the map, at the road to Republic City, already cut off. “You too.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Korra and Jinora laughed, and talked, and reminisced. Both had grown so much. They’d traveled the world, saved it. Found love, and responsibilities, and new hairstyles along the way. They’d both come so far.

“The world is so much smaller, now. Especially after Harmonic Convergence,” Jinora said.

Korra raised an eyebrow, turning toward the airbender. “Smaller? How do you figure?”

“Well, it took my grandparents months to get from one pole to the other, when they were kids. Now it’s almost instantaneous.”

“That doesn’t make the _distance_ any shorter,” Korra groused.

“Doesn’t it, though? The shortest distance between two points may be a straight line, but that’s only if you aren’t allowed to fold the paper.”

“Huh?” Korra knew she wasn’t dumb, but between Asami and Jinora it was sure easy to feel that way sometimes. “Paper what now?”

“Newspapers, too, and books—it’s so easy for ideas to move across the world. A thought originates in Omashu, next thing you know it’s in the Fire Nation. Heck, the radio lets us hear live voices from almost anywhere on the planet. I wonder if radio would work the same in the Spirit World. What do you think, Korra?”

She turned to stare at the girl. “I think you’re talking as fast as Ikki and making about as much sense. How are any of those thoughts related to each other?”

“Well…” Jinora said, tapping her lips with a finger. “There is a certain thematic similarity between the topics. Given that you’re the Avatar and the Spirit World reacts to you, I thought that, perhaps, putting you in the mindset of distances being short and so much having changed might create the perception of progress being made.”

Korra stared at her.

Jinora glanced over Korra’s shoulder, and light shone in her eyes. “In other words, I distracted you into getting us there faster.”

Korra frowned, then turned to look forward.

The spirit portals were on the horizon, the Tree of Time looming empty between them.

“How ‘bout that,” she said.

“Well, you wanted me to be part of the Spirit World meeting for a reason.”

“No fooling.” She could easily have picked up banter there, or put in another well-deserved compliment, but something wasn’t right. Something was different, around the portals. Buildings, they looked like, and more than a few.

Jinora was stiff behind her, noticing it too. “You didn’t know about this?” Korra asked. The girl shook her head.

Korra kicked Naga forward, as if a few minutes cut from the approach would make up for her late arrival at the scene of yet another problem.

Could be it wasn’t a problem, though. She didn’t know anything about it yet, why would she assume some change here would be bad?

Korra thought it smarter not to reply to that thought.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Asami!”

Asami winced, stopping in her tracks atop what used to be her swimming pool, and was fast becoming a reception atrium. “Iknik,” she said, turning to meet him.

Varrick's mustache curved down with his frown. “What? Don’t call me that, that’s weird.”

“Why not? That’s your given name.”

He slapped his forehead. “What, you want me to call you ‘Sato’? Fine! I can do that. I’ll run back out the door and come back in if you like, but—”

Asami crossed her arms. “How about we skip ahead to why you’re here.”

“Four things!” He held his fingers out, counting down from pointer to pinkie. “One: you should do a joint venture with Bolin on exfoliating lava rock. I’d do it, but nobody wants to buy hygiene products with my face on it. Two: we need to discuss our joint patent on the hummingbird suits. _Somebody_ should be developing them! Three: I want to invest in your people-mover idea. Not movers made of people, but the trucks made for moving people comfortably.”

She tapped her fingers against her forearms. “And four?”

He glanced down at his pinkie. “Let’s go in your office to discuss one through three, first.”

Deep breath. Better to get this over with. Even on his best behavior, the man grated on her. The rest of the city seemed to have forgiven him for instigating a war, profiteering off of it, trying to steal her company, and trying to kidnap the president, but Asami still saw the same sly businessman hiding behind the manic egomaniac. She’d shown that saving the city was good for business—that’s all his redemption really was. Good business.

Tenni’s greeting was silenced with a quick look as they walked past, stepping through the framed-out-but-unfinished wall into her office. She closed the door, motioning toward a seat and moving around her desk. “One, Future Industries doesn’t have a hygiene or cosmetics line. We're not in the best position to branch out that broadly, and I already have enough trouble dealing with how people treat a woman in this business without slapping _my_ face on beauty products.” She sat, turning her chair to face his. “Two, it would be legally impossible to separate each of our contributions from the hummingbird suit project, so I’m willing to let you do what you want with the concept if you let me do the same. We’ll compete for market share, and the better product will win.” Asami was confident whose that would be, and if Varrick wound up sinking extra money into a failed project, well, friendly or not, they were still competitors. “Three, as much as I could use extra working capital right now, frankly, I’d rather not give you more any more leverage over my company than you already have. Four?”

Varrick had his arms crossed, listening passively. “Four: rifles.”

She kept her face still. “What about them?”

The man’s typical manic energy was nowhere to be seen. He scooted his chair forward. “I saw Zhu Li test firing a few, doing quality control on the bullets we’re making. Asami… are you sure about this?”

“About what? Letting you produce ammunition, but not the guns themselves? Like I told Zhu Li—”

“No, not that! The deal is fine. We’re going to make a killing. _THAT’S_ what I want to know if you’re sure about.”

Asami’s mouth opened, but she found no words ready to retort. ‘We’re going to make a killing.’ That wasn’t just meant as a turn of phrase, was it?

“Look,” Varrick said, leaning forward onto his knees. “The moment I realized the weapon potential of my spirit vine device, I wanted to stop. Destroy my research. Me! Yeah, I’ve sold weapons before, but heavy expensive things that armies use against each other. Not something to destroy whole cities! Maybe that’s a fine line to draw, I dunno.” He shrugged. “Probably I was wrong before. Can’t change that now. I’m just wondering if, years down the line, this might be something you regret. I’m sure there’s other ways you could save your company—”

“This isn’t about saving Future Industries,” she interrupted. “The timing is good, but that’s not what this is about.”

Varrick leaned back, arms crossed, a little of his flamboyance returning. “Well, what’s it about then?!”

Asami turned, looking at the sky out the window. She didn’t owe him an explanation—it was her invention and her company. Yet, the gesture seemed so oddly genuine, so concerned… it didn’t feel right to blow him off, either.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Varrick. Truly. But I started working on my rifle years ago for a reason, and that reason hasn’t changed. But it has remained personal. Hundreds of people die every year in Satomobile accidents, but my father never ceased to be proud of them. Airships were created for the Fire Nation’s war effort, they nearly enabled it to destroy the entire Earth Kingdom. How much good has come of them now?”

She sighed, meeting his gaze. “All the same, I would appreciate any help you could give in making sure my rifles stay _my_ rifles. I know what sort of damage they could cause in the wrong hands. I want to control who gets them, and how many. And you’re just the right person to tell me how some schemer might get their hands on them regardless.”

“That I can do!” Varrick said, bounding to his feet. “Do you trust me?”

Asami didn’t feel the kneejerk ‘no’ she anticipated. But neither did she feel a ‘yes.’ “Why?”

“Because you want me to test your security? Best way for me to do that is to check it myself!”

She raised her eyebrow. “You want a tour of my factories?”

“What? No, that’s boring! I’m gonna try to rob you blind!”

“That’s… not precisely what I had in mind.”

“Of course not! That’s why you needed _my_ mind to think of it! How better to make sure nobody can take things you don’t want taken?”

Asami rubbed her temples. “Spirits, Varrick… fine. Just give me a few days to prepare.”

“As if! The criminal mind knows neither courtesy nor schedules, my friend! I’ll call you!”

With that, he scampered off, Asami blinking in his wake.

Couldn’t she have just kept disliking the man? Whatever _this_ was felt a lot more dangerous.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

It was never supposed to have been this way.

Suyin had founded this city as a safe place. Somewhere those of good heart and intent could build new lives, pursue their dreams, escape their pasts.

Not have the past come back to haunt them.

At least Wing and Wei would be safe. At least Opal was elsewhere. If the worst happened, maybe they could send relief, come save the day, like Opal, Lin, and Mom had before.

If the worst happened, at least they wouldn’t be there for it.

She pushed that from her mind. Positive thinking was key—don’t focus on the worst outcomes, you’ll just find ways to make them happen. She was outnumbered, but her position was defensible. There were still things she could do.

Some of them involved risks of their own.

She followed the warden deeper into the cell block, her firm footfalls giving no hint of her uncertainty. Perhaps this was a mistake. But it was under her control. She could back out at any time if she didn’t get what she needed, and there was some small chance she would.

Still, the four guards flanking her boosted her confidence.

This was her city. She was in control.

“Open the cell,” she said. The warden complied.

Kuvira sat on the cot opposite the door. Patient. Waiting. Their eyes met.

“Su,” she acknowledged.

Suyin stepped in. “Let’s talk.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to wordcatchers for catching those words for me! By which I mean, beta-ing! 
> 
> Korra and Asami -- still cute
> 
> Lin and Raiko -- still in the story
> 
> Jinora and Korra -- sisterly road trip! 
> 
> Tenzin and Zuko -- Old dude mystery solvers? Jinkies! 
> 
> Mako and Su -- What are you doing over here, Mako! The mystery is in the other plotline! 
> 
> Asami and Varrick -- What IS up with everybody trusting the guy? 
> 
> Kuvira -- oh hai. Shannon didn't forget you after all. Her being back in the story is almost certainly a good thing. 
> 
> With Kuvira being back in play, I think it's fair to say we are officially out of the 'friendly happy' section of this story. Not that it's all grimdark or anything, but... well...


	9. Factfinding

 

_Asami walked several paces behind Korra, letting the Avatar guide her through the swampy terrain. The ground here was far too uneven to walk side by side, much less hold hands._

_Besides, from a little distance, Asami could_ watch _. The firm movements of Korra’s legs, the flexing muscles on her bare arms… She didn’t have to subsist off stolen glances anymore. She was allowed to look, and she did so. Often._

_Korra turned to check on her. Asami smiled. Sometimes it was like this—no words needed to be said. Just a look, a smile, reassurance._

_They passed a dense copse of trees, and Asami frowned. Something wasn’t right. She backed up a step, watching the swamp to her right… yes, the view between those two trees was different. The light fell a different way, the angles were odd…_

_She knew she’d promised not to get too distracted by the Spirit World’s oddities, but this… localized topographical anomaly, might be a good term. Far too interesting to pass up. If the polar portal trade route she and Tonraq had been building worked out, there would be demand for a route to the Republic City portal as well. Understanding the strange tricks the Spirit World played would be the first step toward making that work, and cutting_ that _distance would be invaluable._

“ _Asami?” Korra asked, ahead of her._

“ _Just a minute,” Asami said, stepping between the trees into the odd light._

_The swamp was gone—now she was in a light forest, the tall, thin trees arrayed geometrically. Fruit hung low from the outer, umbrella-like branches, the edges of each tree nearly kissing the ones beside it._

“ _Hey, you!” someone said below her._

“ _Oh!” She jumped, a hand on her chest from startlement. A pudgy spirit stood by her feet, barely as tall as her boots. Flowers grew on its back, and its arms were too short to reach each other. “Hello.”_

“ _You’re big!” the spirit said, pointing up at her._

_Asami laughed. Tall as she was, this was more of a height disparity than she was used to. “So I am. Your flowers are very pretty.”_

“ _Pretty!?” the spirit rested its hands on its sides. “They’re red! That’s fierce!”_

_Asami knelt, snickering. “Well, red is my color too. People say I’m pretty. But I’m also very strong and fierce myself. Nothing says you can't be both.”_

“ _Hmf.” The spirit seemed mostly placated by that._

“ _Do you have a name?” she reached her hand out. “I’m Asami.”_

_The spirit’s eyes lit up. “I’m Asami too!”_

_She giggled. Perhaps it didn’t understand the idea of names. Or it would mimic whoever it talked to. “Well, that sounds like it might be confusing, Asami.”_

_Little-Asami frowned. “I don’t think so. I wouldn’t confuse you for me. You’re big.”_

“ _I meant for other people. Right, Korr…” Asami looked around, frowning. She’d only taken a few steps, but the path to the swamp was nowhere to be seen. Korra had been right there, she had to have heard her! “Korra?”_

“ _Who are you talking to?” the spirit asked._

“ _My… friend. She was right there with me. I…” She rose quickly, then took a step back and stopped._

_She was lost in the Spirit World._

_The rules made no sense. Topography, weather, everything and anything could betray her._

_She had to be smart about this. Asami had no idea where she was, in relation to Korra or any of the spirit portals. The portals would not come to her. But Korra would not rest until she’d found her._

_Right now, she seemed safe enough. The best thing to do, logically, would be to stay put. Maybe try to get a message to Korra, but otherwise, make sure not to get hurt._

“ _Asami?” the spirit asked._

“ _Yeah?” she answered absently, licking her lips, contemplating what she could do._

“ _You’re big!”_

_That was getting a little annoying. “Yes, I’m…” the spirit was looking up, expectation in it’s big eyes. It was pointing, not at her, but just above her. “You… want some of the fruit? From the tree.”_

_Little Asami nodded._

_Asami shrugged, reaching up. Before touching the round, blue fruit, she paused. “Um… tree? I don’t want to make any assumptions here. Is taking this fruit going to bother you?”_

_The tree did not answer._

“ _Why are you being so polite?” the spirit asked. “The trees are mean, holding the fruit so high!” It shook it's little hands at them, its flowery brow furrowing._

_Asami plucked a fruit down, glancing at the tree as she did. It acted like a normal tree, which is to say it didn’t respond at all. She let out a breath, and handed the fruit down. “Here you go.”_

_Little Asami’s hands were barely able to touch both sides of it. “Wow!”_

“ _Wow?” a little voice asked, behind the tree._

“ _Wow?” asked three more, identical spirits peeking out as well._

_Soon enough, a whole chorus of ‘Wow?’s flooded over her as an entire platoon of tiny spirits surrounded her. She couldn’t take a step for fear of crushing one._

“ _You’re big!” one of them observed._

“ _You’re big!” repeated another._

“ _Uh…” her voice quavered as they began to jostle against her legs. She shimmied back toward the tree as they grabbed on to her boots, climbed atop each other, pawed at her pants…_

_Asami ignored her own distress, dispassionately assessing her surroundings. She judged a few distances, wound herself up, and trusted her body to do what she needed it to. Bounding backwards and shaking the grabby spirits off, she spun in the air, feet impacting on the tree trunk long enough for her to kick off and up, grabbing hold of a tree branch._

“ _Wow!” one of the Little Asami’s called up after her as she pulled herself up._

“ _Wow!” “Wow!” “Wow!”_

_As soon as she was certain the tree would hold her weight, she found a crook between two larger branches._

_She needed to think._

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Take a seat wherever you like,” Kuvira said, remaining on the center of her cot with her feet firmly planted on the floor. There wasn’t so much as a stool in her platinum cell.

Suyin folded her arms, looking her former protege over. “You look terrible.”

She smiled weakly, rictus on her sallow skin. “I haven't seen the sun since you threw me in here. Though I'll admit, I wouldn't mind a little more meat in my meals.”

That was not enough time for her to look this bad. Though she'd started looking wan within days of her surrender. She wore defeat poorly. “What can you tell me about the army you left here? How big was the garrison? Who was in command?”

“I can't tell you anything that's transpired since I decamped. When I left, the army was four thousand strong, in contact with an equally-sized force in Ba Sing Se. They were under the command of Colonel Nyota, a man about your age, long passed-over in the Earth Queen's military due to lack of connections. Ambitious but not unreasonably so. His tactical mind is sound but not creative. You should watch his forces closely, and make sure he knows you are. If he has time to maneuver and plan, it will be far harder to stop him.”

Suyin paced the short length of the cell, arms still crossed. “Did you leave him any standing orders? Is he supposed to rescue you if you're captured?”

Some of the energy drifted out of Kuvira's eyes. “We had no contingencies for precisely the sort of defeat I suffered. Nyota's orders—all my garrisons' orders—were to maintain stability in their territory and assist the forces in neighboring states as needed. Why are you asking me these questions?”

She shouldn't answer that. She shouldn't let Kuvira believe she held any sway in world events, not anymore.

But at the same time, Kuvira could be the key to keeping Zaofu safe, perhaps to preventing the entire continent from descending back into chaos. And she'd already said enough for Kuvira to speculate.

Suyin stopped pacing in a corner, her back toward Kuvira. “You betrayed me. You betrayed the ideals I thought we shared. Worst of all, you betrayed my son. All your other crimes are heinous enough, but you know me. You know how forgiving I am.”

Which was to say, not at all.

“I know you oppose the death penalty.”

“Oh, don't misunderstand me, Kuvira,” she said, her tone almost friendly as she turned around.“ _That_ hasn't changed. But it's one thing for society to hold human life in so little regard that it feels empowered to take it, versus one person's retribution against a woman who threatens everything she holds dear.”

Kuvira shrugged, her hands falling flat against the mattress. “What threat do you mean, Su? You have me. I'm here. You could have me killed whenever you like, and use whatever justification for your hypocrisy fits best.”

“I'm not here to threaten you. I'm here to state terms.”

Her prisoner frowned. “Terms for what?”

“Terms for you to do some good. Take a step toward redeeming yourself, maybe. Save the city from your own army.”

Her lips pressed together. “And what _are_ your terms, Su?”

“Simply this: if we secure the city, if we can continue to Ba Sing Se for your trial, nothing changes. Perhaps I even push for a little leniency—my word would carry weight. But if your army out there stands to take control, I promise you now that whatever else happens, they will not be able to rescue you alive.”

Kuvira crossed her shins, looking Suyin in the eye. There had been respect there once. Loyalty. Admiration. Genuine fondness. Now, there was just history, and metal. “What's the situation?”

Su filled her in. Missing army. Communications and rails cut. Instability in neighboring regions. Her former captain listened intently, tapping her knuckle to her lip as she thought.

“Everything I worked for,” Kuvira muttered once Suyin finished. “Everything we built in three years, spiraling apart, and again you've failed to use that strong will of yours when the world truly needs it.”

“We're not going to have that argument, Kuvira. You lost it.”

“Did I? Everything I was afraid would happen, happened. Until I stopped it. Now it's happening again. Yes, I overstepped. But you've recreated the same situation we had three years ago, and if you don't act soon, you'll get something far worse than me.”

“And just what action _should_ we take, in your view? Should I go declare myself Earth Queen? Wait, I forget—Empress is more in vogue now, isn't it?”

“Let me talk to my army.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I was wrong to attack Republic City. I see that now, I admit it. And trust me, I will do nothing to put myself on the Avatar's hit list. She took a full-force blast from the greatest weapon in history—I know I could not fight her and win. But _you_ know I can stabilize this country. You see it happening again, just like before, and you have in your hand somebody would can end the situation in an instant.”

“You're out of your mind if you think we're letting you go.”

Kuvira stood. “Let me tell you _my_ terms, Su. You think you could come down here and browbeat me into helping? Believe it or not, I want to help. That's all I've _ever_ wanted to do. Now, I've lost everything. I lost my empire, I lost my good name. I've lost the man I loved.”

Suyin slapped her.

They stood frozen for a long moment, before Kuvira worked her jaw, turning her sallow face forward again. “I have nothing to lose, Su. Nothing. That means you have no leverage. None, whatsoever. I've been happy enough to sit down here and let you drag me to trial, because I thought that might help the transition into whatever government you put in place, might help keep my country together. Might keep my people safe. Now, you say they're in as great a danger as ever, that the Empire is spiraling apart. The only thing I have left to care about is my people. Let me help you help them, or I'll have no reason to keep cooperating.”

“You're in no position to make threats.”

“Neither are you.”

Su's nostrils flared. “We're done here.”

“Seem's so,” Kuvira agreed, crossing her arms and watching her go. Suyin had gotten some useful information, at least. Once she'd stormed back to her office and screamed for an hour, she'd figure out what to do with it.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The cluster of buildings around the spirit portals were alarming in their mere existence, but all the more so given their differing natures. The Southern portal was surrounded by raised timber structures, arrayed at straight angles with each other. Widely-spaced and orderly. There was a water tower near the river, and a fuel depot beside it. There was even, indeed, a short bit of flattened road between the portal and the center of the buildings.

The Northern portal was inside a fortress. Northern soldiers patrolled the ramparts. The gate was shut.

Korra shook her head, stopping Naga on a rise while deciding which direction to take. She wished she _had_ brought Asami along. She'd know what to do.

Jinora was just as thoughtful behind her. “I hate to say, but Eska may have been right. If it's come to this already, we need to settle how Spirit World affairs are going to work.”

The Avatar nodded. “We'd better talk to the Southerners first. Eska said I'm not the most loved figure in the North, and I don't want to risk finding out she was right twice in one hour.”

Korra steered Naga toward the Southern portal, her mind flitting between the changes that had come since she'd last time been here, and the scars she still carried from the first. It was the most spiritual place in the entire Spirit World, the center of it all, but the jagged, dark landscape and the memories that came with it would never be comfortable.

For all the construction around the Southern portal, the buildings were mostly empty. Painted signs hung over the doors, with words like 'Inspection' and 'Administration' and 'Residence.' Jinora nudged her shoulder, pointing toward some construction equipment near the fuel depot. They were new—Future Industries models, in fact—but battle-scarred, dented and scratched, tires cut in the sort of neat lines she'd expect to see from waterbending.

“I'd stay away from those, 'f I were you,” a man said, approaching from one of the buildings. “We've come to a kind of deal with the Northerners—we don't go near the equipment, they don't run out and tear it up. Avatar Korra?”

“The one and only,” she said, reaching a hand down to shake his. “You're expecting me?”

“Chief Tonraq and Lady Senna should be here shortly. We weren't expecting you here for some time, and I believe Tonraq wished to talk to our cousins over there before you arrived.”

“Maybe I should?” Jinora asked into Korra's ear.

She nodded. “Good idea. See what you can find out, maybe get the person in charge to come over so we can chat. If we're going to sit down and resolve all these issues, we need to make sure there's not another round of Water Tribe fighting here while we do it.”

“Can I take Naga?”

Korra raised an eyebrow. “If you're sure you can handle her. She can be kinda rambunctious.”

Jinora smiled. “I've been bonding with her a bit when you leave her on the island. She's kind of my morning meditation buddy. Trust me, we'll do fine.”

She felt a pang of guilt as she dismounted. Yet again, she'd sidelined her animal companion and best non-Asami friend. But the apartment wasn't particularly polar bear dog friendly.

The excuse sounded weak. She hadn't replied to her friends' letters. She'd avoided her parents when she was recovering, and barely spoken with them since returning to the world. Was she really so self-centered?

She gave Naga a big hug around her neck. Naga chuffed happily. No matter how long Korra had ever left her, Naga's devotion never diminished. Nor had her parents'. Nor, apparently, had Asami's. Korra bit her lip. “You know I still love you, you adorable monster. Right?”

Naga tilted her head, snorting. Korra's hair blew back.

She chuckled, patting the side of Naga's face. “I can do better. I will, Naga. And not just for you.” If Asami could juggle her responsibilities without acting like a jerk, then Korra could too. Or at least, she could try.

“You okay, Korra?” Jinora said. “It's not like we're going far.”

Korra shook herself. “Yeah. Still just learning how much I'm learning.”

“Very airbender of you,” Jinora replied. “Maybe you should join Naga and I meditating, sometime?”

In spite of herself, she winced. She'd have to get up so _early_ to make it to Air Temple Island on time, and mornings were, after all, evil.

But then, it would be shirking her Avatar duties not to combat them, wouldn't it?

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Zuko rarely called attention to himself. Who he was, his history. Everybody already knew. So when he wanted to go somewhere, when he wanted somebody to tell him something, he did not need to give them a reason why, he did not need to ask them. Retired or not, he had been Fire Lord for decades. Longer than most of the men and women here had been alive. People were used to doing what he said, and at some point, he'd gotten used to that too.

So maybe that was why Boss Taka's refusal to let him tour the mine felt so galling.

“Talk to all the miners you want,” Taka said, his body sprawled across the entrance to the mine shaft. “Tour the factories if you must. But it doesn't matter who you are, firebenders are absolutely forbidden in the mine. Not you, not the Fire Lord, not the Avatar. It's just too dangerous.”

Zuko huffed. “Fine. Tenzin then.”

Taka shook his head. “A foreign citizen, and a dignitary to boot? No way. I won't take the responsibility.”

That would preclude sending Caluqtiq as well. “It seems that not taking responsibility is among your primary goals here.”

That earned a glare. “Lord Zuko, my job here is to keep the mines and the factories running profitably. That's all. You're here to deal with the spirit issue. You can talk to as many miners as you like, but not a one of them has seen a spirit in the mines.”

This conversation was getting him nowhere. Certainly not into the mines. “Have it your way, Boss Taka. Before I attempt it, is there anywhere else you will not permit me to go?”

He shook his head. “I know better than to try. Go where you like. I just don't want to see the whole town blown up.”

Of course not. It would look terrible on the ledger. Zuko gave a cordial half-bow, and walked away from the mine.

Tenzin was waiting for him. The saffron of his robes was smudged with soot. “How are the factories?” Zuko asked.

The airbender frowned, glancing around them. “I'm unsure. I can't say I've seen any other factories to make a comparison. The foreman giving me the tour reassured me that everything was up to international safety standards.”

“But you're not so sure.”

His frown would have been answer enough. “There was one line where some of the workers couldn't have been much older than Ikki. The kids had their hands inches away from this pneumatic press. I wanted to get a closer look, but they said my robes could get caught in the machinery.”

No wonder everybody's hair was hacked so short. “Did you talk to any of the workers?”

“No,” Tenzin said, shifting on his feet. “They were working.”

Trust the airbender not to interrupt. “And being watched, too. There's a better place to talk to them, though.”

It wasn't difficult to find, either. Everybody in town could point to the nearest bar.

“This establishment seems a trifle...” Tenzin searched for a word. “Rustic.”

“Seedy, you mean?” Zuko laughed. “We're looking to hear how bad things are for the workers. This is the sort of place we're likely to hear the worst.”

“I see,” Tenzin replied, dubiously. “It isn't very crowded, at least.”

“Of course not. Everybody's on shift.” Zuko strode up to the bartender, an older woman, watching them as she wiped down the counter. “Greetings, madam.”

“Information comes with a two drink minimum.”

Zuko chuckled wryly. “I was going to start by asking your name.”

“That would be information.”

He ordered two rice wines. She rolled her eyes, found a dusty bottle on a high shelf, and poured. “Name's Thunder.”

That was extremely doubtful. “How has business been? Rowdy?”

Thunder shrugged. “Some nights worse than others.”

Tenzin sipped his wine, and nearly choked. “What brought you here?”

“Flirting is a six drink minimum.”

“We are not here to flirt!” Tenzin huffed.

Zuko chuckled. “I find it hard to believe a capable and lovely woman as yourself would not already be married.”

“Was,” she said. “Mines got him.”

Tenzin and Zuko exchanged a look. “I'm sorry to hear that, Miss, uh, Thunder,” Tenzin said.

She shrugged again, picking up a cup to clean.

Zuko sipped his drink as he thought. The taste was... compelling, in its awfulness. He'd have much preferred tea. “Actually, we're trying to determine what life is like in Kuodan, but we're finding it difficult to get any information out of anyone. Boss Taka is less than forthcoming, and everyone else is too on edge to explain to us _why_ they are on edge. So we're looking to absorb some of the local color.”

“You mean that?” she said, nodding at the one occupied table in the corner. Every one of the people there wore the red armband.

He turned back toward her, an eyebrow raised. “Much like that, yes. How does one acquire such a distinctive fashion accessory?”

She chuckled. “Dip some light cloth in the runoff right out of the factory. Turns it red real quick.”

No wonder there were so many bars in this town—the swill served here had to be healthier than the water.

“Is that what it means, then?” Tenzin asked. “They are protesting pollution?”

Thunder lay her hands on the bar. “They don't give a damn about pollution. Those four?” She nodded back at the table. “Wen lost his brother in a factory misshap. Hu lost her kid, from the river sickness, and nearly lost her job for staying home to tend him. I'll let you guess what she had to do to keep it. Maon, lost a leg in a mine collapse, so of course he can't work. He goes hungry most days.”

Zuko held his drink, contemplating quietly.

“And the last one?” Tenzin asked.

“Xin. Firebender,” Thunder said. “Lost his job when they went to coal power, they won't let him work in a mine. Put a few drinks in him, he'll talk about how his gramps fought in the war, all the glory he brought to the kingdom. Bit of an ass, really, resents he wasn't born when he could lord his bending over us.”

“And what do those four discuss, at that table, in the middle of the day?” Zuko asked softly.

Thunder considered, her hands cleaning cups mechanically. “Options.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Excuse me?”

Tenni jumped at the unexpected voice. She was alone in her office, who—

She looked up again. A see-through blue girl was floating in front of her.

“Aaah!” she shouted, flipping backwards over her chair.

“Sorry,” the girl said, her voice wincing.

Tenni groaned, righting herself as best she could. “So... is the Sato mansion haunted or something?”

The apparition shook its head. “I'm Jinora. I'm with Korra, in the Spirit World. I thought this was Asami's office, I just wanted to tell her we got to the portal already and Korra's parents are meeting us here.”

Still on the floor, Tenni blinked. “Miss Sato is out of the office at the moment. Shall I take that down as a message?”

Jinora smiled. “Yes. That would work nicely. Thank you.”

  

 

 

***

  

 

 

After six hours driving offroad on a barely-padded bench, Tsu Ying was sorely regretting her decision to wear her White Lotus armor. Emphasis on 'sorely.'

She was also beginning to regret her choice of car. Shu had gone in Wei's jeep with most of the supplies, suggesting she ride with Mako without giving any reason for it. Sometimes, he was so helpful she wanted to punch him—but at least nobody else thought it seemed strange.

Then, they'd all hopped in, and she found herself staring at the back of Mako's head. In the back seat. With Wu.

They weren't moving _that_ fast, and the other jeep wasn't too far behind. They'd probably pick her up if she threw herself off.

“So, you really seem to know how to handle a spear,” Wu said. His eyebrows jumped up and down in the most off-putting way.

She grit her teeth. That was the ten-thousandth such line he'd fed her. “Yes. I am very well trained in the deadly use of this weapon.”

“Yeah?” Wu asked, reaching an arm behind her. She glared at it. “I bet you'd use it to protect me if we got attacked by raiders.”

“I would not. You would be cowering behind Mako, and I would not wish to get in his way.”

Wing snorted from the driver's seat.

“Yeah, Mako's pretty great. He carried me to safety when I was attacked by a mob, once! Just, picked me up in his strong arms and whisked me to my car.”

“Couldn't have been too hard. You can't weigh more than a bunny-kitten.”

“Ha-ha! That's good!”

She grimaced. How had that not landed?

“There's a town up ahead,” Mako said. “Big enough to be on your map. We could probably find a radio there.”

“Fuel too,” Wing said.

“And bathrooms!” Wu added. He turned back toward Tsu Ying, and she felt herself tense for an incoming assault. “Speaking of bathrooms, this one time—”

“Leave her alone, Wu,” Mako said. Spirits, he took this long to save her?

“We're just _talking_ , Mako!”

“Sure. And did you happen to notice how much of the talking you are doing?”

“Ma _ko_ ,” he leaned forward, whispering loudly enough to be heard over the noise of the road (by everybody in the jeep), “how else am I supposed to get interest from the ladies if I don't talk to them? I don't even have my royalty to fall back on anymore!”

“Maybe don't call us, 'the ladies'?” Tsu Ying suggested.

“Or maybe talk to them like you talk to Mako,” Wing said. “You two make a cute couple after all.”

Tsu Ying felt the blood fall from her face. Mako's blood all rushed to his. “It's nothing like that!”

Wu plopped back into his seat, arms crossed. Frowning. “Yeah, nothing like that. Not at all. We're best pals, is all. Just a couple of guy pals...”

She cleared her throat. “So, Mako. How long until this town?”

“Should be over the next rise. Hopefully we can pick up Torru's trail, see what route he's taking to Ba Sing Se.”

“We could split up,” Wing suggested. “We have two jeeps. Could cover more ground that way.”

Splitting up. If she could maneuver that right, she could be rid of Wu _and—_

“We'd better not,” Mako said. “If we get into trouble, better to have us all together.”

“We're not likely to hit the kind of trouble that two or three extra people will help with,” Tsu Ying called forward. “Armies, raiding parties, marauders. We _might_ be able to take on a road gang.”

Mako nodded. “Good point, though not really comforting. We'll see what we find up ahead.”

She settled as well as she could into the seat. Beside her, Wu was peering out at the countryside, like he wasn't seeing any of it. So long as he wasn't bothering her, she was all for it.

They pulled into the town after, and piled out of the car. Wing rushed off to find a radio, Mako for fuel, Shu for a bathroom, and Wu didn't matter. Wei watched the jeeps.

She went with Mako. To help carry fuel cans.

It was only reasonable.

A small general store had a pump outside. Not a proper fueling station—perhaps the town would get one in a few years. If the country didn't fall apart again.

“Hold on,” Mako said, before she started pumping. “Let me measure how much is in their tank, first.”

She frowned, watching him fiddle with the pump assembly. “Why?”

Mako frowned at the barrel, knocking it with his knuckle. “This is probably the only fuel stop in town, and they had to have come through here today, if they did. Having covered the same distance.”

“In the same vehicles,” Tsu Ying said, nodding. “It wouldn't be a hundred percent accurate, but it would at least verify they've been here.”

“That's what I'm thinking.” He knelt to examined the pump closer. As fun as it might be to watch him while he was distracted, she had a better idea, and stepped into the shop itself.

The shopkeeper examined her uniform as she stepped in. “Pardon me, sir.”

“You're not with the Empire,” he said. “What's that uniform?”

How much of a backwater was this? “I'm with the White Lotus.”

“White Lotus, Red Lotus... what's with all these Lotus's all of a sudden?”

She kept her expression still even as her heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean, Red Lotus?”

A few minutes later, she stepped back out. Mako was kneeling beside their fuel cans, jotting some math in his little notebook. “Tsu Ying, the same amount was missing as we used, almost exactly. You find out if there's any other petrol stations?”

She crossed her arms, watching him. He'd look better if his hair wasn't so prim. “Actually, that slipped my mind.”

He frowned. “Slipped your mind? What were you doing in there, then?”

“Oh,” she cocked her hips, looking at her fingernails, “just that two jeeps mostly full of teenagers came in here five hours ago, bought a bunch of water. And a map to the eastern lakes.”

Mako blinked, glancing down at his notebook. “Maybe I should have tried interrogating the shopkeeper instead of the gas barrel.”

“I figured a big city detective like you knew what he was doing.”

He stood up, dusting off his pants. “Do you mind showing me the maps?”

She quirked an eyebrow, but guided him inside. Did he not believe her?

“Sir?” he asked the shopkeeper. “Your maps—”

“Right in the back there, like I showed your lady friend.”

“You only sold the one?”

“Yessir. First one I've sold in months. The petrol salesman foisted 'em on me when I got started.”

Mako nodded, his eyes narrow. He opened the box, flipping through the manila accordion envelope, checking each labeled section. “How many of each map did you start with? Two?”

“That's right. Either of you gonna tell me what this is all about?”

She ignored him. “What are you thinking?”

“Big city detective senses,” he said. “That shopkeeper is way too forthcoming with information, and these guys knew they were being followed.”

Oh. Crap. “You think they were laying a false trail? Torru doesn't seem that conniving.”

“Torru, maybe not, though I bet he's got more wits than he lets on. Those students he's with, though? Tend to be a pretty self-important lot. All full of their own cleverness... mhm.” He found an empty slot, with the label torn off, and gave her a meaningful glance.

“They bought one to fool us, and stole the ones they wanted,” she said. “And I fell for it.”

“Well, at least you weren't interrogating a barrel,” he replied. “Now help me check these other maps. We just have to figure out which region is missing. Like a puzzle.”

She nodded, chastising herself as they set to work.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Korra wandered about the recently-built, still-unused Spirit World trading depot, knowing she should be investigating it, knowing she should be working to unravel the sticky situation broiling between the Water Tribes that could impact the Spirit World as a whole. This was a crisis in its infancy, precisely at the time she could head it off. She should be focused on that.

But her parents were coming.

She'd seen her father a month or so ago—he'd been in town for Kuvira's trial and stayed for Zhu Li's wedding. Mom, she hadn't seen in months.

Neither of them knew about Asami.

With whom she was now living.

“How many laps of the street are you going to take?” Jinora asked, sitting on a railing as she paced past.

How long had she been there? “I dunno. A thousand?” She took a breath, closed her eyes.

Jinora hopped down to walk beside her. “Nervous?”

She took another breath. Yes, focus on the breathing. The air was warm here. Alive. “What did the Northerners have to say?”

“They're happy that somebody is addressing this issue. A little less so that it's a kid, but some quick spirit projection increased my credibility considerably.”

Korra smirked. “Good. You think it's safe to leave these guys alone while we negotiate, then?”

“Not... entirely. Which is why I'm staying.”

Korra stopped. “Staying?”

Jinora nodded, eyes closing in her explanatory manner. “Besides mediating between these two rival factions, it will give me ample time to study the Spirit World in person, which will prove invaluable in the upcoming negotiations and in my own understanding of this parallel realm. Plus, I can spirit project back to Republic City whenever I want, so it isn't like I will be out of touch. I already informed Asami of the change in plans. Left a message, at least.”

“Wow. That's... very helpful of you. I was going to call Asami when we got to Harbor City—”

“I know. You said that a few hundred times on the way here.” That was certainly definitely an exaggeration probably. “But see? I'll hardly be out of touch.”

“You staying here, though...” She was about to ask what Tenzin would think of this, but the answer was obvious. And in that, she'd side with Jinora—she was a Master in her own right, and if this was something that would further her own journey to enlightenment, her father would have to understand.

Instead, she asked, “What will Kai think?”

Jinora looked striken. “It's not like I'm going to live here forever! It's like a mission. Besides, do you really think I can't find my way back to the Republic City portal as fast as you can?”

“Heck, I'm worried _I_ can't find my way back as fast without your help.”

The girl smirked. “Well, then that will give you and your parents plenty of time to catch up. I'm sure you can think of _some_ thing to talk about.”

Korra glared. “You are an evil creature.”

“Korra!” Dad's voice called out.

“Have a good trip back,” Jinora said, slinking away.

The Avatar rolled her eyes, jogging toward Dad's voice. She turned a corner, saw them already with Naga. For just a moment, her worry and apprehension washed away. She rushed to her parents, yanking them both into a huge, heavy hug.

Dad laughed, deep and rumbling, dropping their bags to pat her back. Mom kissed her cheek. “Honey, if you missed us this much, you could call more.”

And then the nervousness came back. “Yeah, well...” she scratched the back of her head. It's not like she was avoiding talking to them because a certain someone was bound to come up. “It's been really busy, what with the rebuilding and all.”

Mom glanced at her short hair, sighed, and turned to Dad. “Well, we didn't expect her to meet us here. Are we still planning to stay the night, or should we try to press on?”

“I'm okay to keep moving, if Korra and Naga have the energy. Korra?”

Korra frowned, fingering her hair. Did Mom not like it? “I'm good to go, sure. Naga?”

She chuffed affirmatively.

“Okay then!” Korra said, trying not to notice the way Mom wasn't looking at her. “Let's get moving!”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Caluqtiq sighed, rolling her son out of bed. “Come on, Nuktik. I know yesterday was upsetting, but we still have to eat.”

Nuktik groaned, holding his belly through his bedclothes. “Why'd this all have to happen this week?”

She smiled grimly, a hand on Nuktik's shoulder. “Bad this month?”

Nuktik nodded. She sat on the bed beside him, pulling him into her side so she could kiss his head.

“I'm really proud of you,” she said. “You know that?”

Nuktik sighed. “I wish dad was.”

So did she. “You're a better man than he'll ever be. Now c'mon.” She got off the bed, stopping in the doorway. “Get dressed so we can eat. This whole town is sick, and honestly, I don't think Lord Zuko and Master Tenzin are equipped to heal it.”

He smiled, just a little. She closed his door, and started downstairs. Nuktik would catch up.

Boss Taka was talking in his office on the ground floor. Loudly. As he always seemed to. The man probably had hearing loss; she often saw people in denial about it overcompensating with volume. “Yes, I said thousands!... No, sir, it wasn't them. A couple of waterbenders.... Lord Zuko brought them, and they were trying to help.... No they won't pay for it!... _What_ budget surplus? Any time I'm even a little in the black you squeeze me more!”

She had not found much reason to like the man. But every time she heard him on the telephone with his own boss, she did manage to find some sympathy. It wasn't easy, when the person ultimately calling the shots had no understanding or, apparently, actual interest in what was really going on.

“No sir.... No, sir. I... Sir, that would be the third time this year! I don't think they'll take it... Hundreds of new workers? But... No, I'm more worried about what would happen to the ones already here!”

“Mom,” Nuktik said, joining her at the head of the stairs. “Are we—”

She raised two fingers quickly, angling an ear downstairs. He recognized her signal, pursing his lips.

“Sir, sir please listen. I truly, sincerely don't believe they would. Where else do they have to go?... Then they'd _make_ it your problem!... _Yes_ , them!... Arrested?! Are you... Yes.... Yes, but... Sir, this is... Sir, please listen to—!”

The heat that had been building in Boss Taka's voice sputtered. “Yes, sir... I understand that I am replaceable.... No sir, I will do as you say.... Yes, sir. Immediately.” The mouthpiece rattled as he set it back in its cradle.

Caluqtiq quietly moved back, leading Nuktik back to their rooms. “Who are they going to arrest?” Nuktik whispered.

She shook her head. “We didn't hear that. We're going to wait a few minutes then act like we're just coming down.”

“Okay,” he nodded. “Then what are we going to do?”

She bit her lip. They might not be equipped to heal this town, either. “We have to tell the others. Figure out _something_ we can to do prevent things from getting worse.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Kuvira lay on her cot, hands behind her head. Eyes closed. The guards might think her sleeping. What else did she have to do in that cell, after all? The same four books grew dull after the ninth time, and they refused to give her newspapers.

She might find out her country was falling apart.

In truth, she had been sleeping a lot more than she liked, weakened by her quiet exertion. Right now, she was as focused as she ever had been. Doing as she'd done for most of her solitary hours since they'd began transporting her. Focusing on her chi paths, on the energy running through her body. On her heart, her pulse.

Her blood.

Bending was a nuanced art. Thousands of years of history, and the last hundred had seen the discovery of bloodbending, metalbending, lavabending. Air suffocation. True, some of these arts may have been known in the past, and suppressed. She found it hard to believe no waterbenders before the Hundred Year War had thought to bend the water flowing in people's very blood. The results were horrifying—but efficient.

Blood, however, contained more than water.

Over the past few weeks, she'd delved within herself. Building this contingency, little by little, speck by speck. Suyin was able to bend metallic poison out of Korra. Korra, apparently, had bent the remainder out of herself.

Kuvira looked within, and found the tiniest traces of metal flowing through her veins. And a bit at a time, she'd gathered them.

The route it took to her mouth was diffuse and indirect. It took her hours to coalesce weeks of work. The result was barely the size of a pea.

Experimentally, she bent it to a point, and pricked her finger. Blood beaded.

She sat up, and bent herself a lockpick.

Her people cried out for help. The leaders of the world seemed as intent as ever that they would not receive it.

She had overreached before. But she had not lost her resolve. Her people needed her.

Kuvira stood.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovely beta wordcatchers called Kuvira "metal as fuck" at the end, which is a wonderful phrasing and just what I was going for, so hoping that came off as intended! 
> 
> Where's Asami in this chapter? WAAAH. It's like she was left out deliberately! Probably the next chapter will focus on her or something, that seems like the sort of thing I would do. 
> 
> (I have no idea why I'm acting hypothetical when I know exactly what happens in the next chapter. Shannon is weird.) 
> 
> What's going on in Kuodan? Do you get the feeling that Tenzin and Zuko haven't the slightest idea what to do in regards to a labor dispute? At least Zuko is worldly and charismatic enough to find an information source! Quite the change up from his awkward teen years, but it fits what we see in LoK. 
> 
> Why yes, the map thing with Mako and Tsu Ying is a deliberate parallel. 
> 
> And KORRA'S PARENTS yay! I've been looking forward to Tonraq and Senna since I started writing this. But what's this? Tension? WHY IS THERE ALWAYS TENSION? 
> 
> AND WHERE IS THERE ALWAYS YELLING IN THESE NOTES? 
> 
> *Runs around flailing arms like a maniac* 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos make me a happy Shannon! Lemme know if you're enjoying!


	10. Buildup

* * *

“ _Asami!” Korra shouted, tearing past gnarled tree and jagged root, stomping and sloshing and frantic. It had been hours since Korra had seen her vanish behind a tree, and she was ready to rip the swamp apart._

 _She couldn’t have lost her. How could she have lost her? Asami was right_ there _, then she wasn’t, and—_

_Korra bent over, hands on her knees, trembling. Breath was coming hard._

_Okay, okay. She hadn’t been taken, nothing had attacked her. Asami was just lost. Alone. In the Spirit World._

_Tears fell at Korra's feet._

_This was no good. She couldn't rescue Asami if she was panicking. Wherever she was,_ Asami _certainly wasn't panicking. She'd be doing the absolutely smartest, most logical thing she could. That didn't always work out in the Spirit World, but they'd been there a week. She probably had notes in that little notebook, plenty of things to keep her safe._

_She bit her lip, wiping her face. She had to stay calm. Asami was okay. The alternative was unthinkable, so she wouldn't think about it. She needed to focus. She needed..._

_She needed a guide._

_Iroh would be best, but had been stubbornly hard to find. If she peeved a spirit off enough, they might take her to the Fog of Lost Souls, but that would hardly improve her situation. She could find her way to Koh, perhaps, but she seriously doubted she could keep emotion from her face right now._

_Rising mostly upright, Korra reached an arm out, leaning against a gnarled tree._

_She blinked._

_The tree! She was able to tap into spirit vines, to track things down in Republic City, or in Toph's swamp. Why wouldn't that work here? She closed her eyes, felt the bark against her skin, and let her spirit look._

_Her mind reeled away, recoiling immediately from the explosion of light and sound and chaos. She clasped her hands to her head, groaning. It had worked, all right: too well. Trying to search through spiritual energy here was like listening closely for a whisper and hearing a train crash instead._

_Korra wobbled onto her rear end, shaking her head to clear it. Growling, she bent up a hunk of earth and lobbed it at the tree, splattering it with mud._

“ _It's not the tree's fault, you know,” a little voice said above her._

_She jumped, bracing her arms behind her. “Who's there?”_

_A little yellow face peered down from a low branch, above her. It was a pudgy spirit, with leaves for ears._

“ _Hey...” she said. “You're the spirit who helped me before, right?”_

_It shook its... well it didn't have a head distinct from its body, but its face moved side to side at least. “That was another light spirit. There's more than a few of us, you know!”_

_That seemed reasonable enough. “Light spirit... are you guys related to Raava, then? Are we like, cousins, or something?”_

_The spirit's face turned sideways. “There's more than one light in the world, too.”_

_Well okay then. “My friend is missing. There might be more than one light in the world, but there's only one Asami. Can you help me find her?”_

“ _Um...” the spirit looked around. “Nope. Don't see her.”_

_Korra shouted in frustration, falling onto her back. “What am I going to do?”_

“ _Well... how did you find her in the first place?”_

“ _I didn't. She found me.”_

“ _Well, then maybe she'll find you this time!”_

“ _I... doubt that.” The Spirit World was fickle and mysterious, and prone to coincidence when it felt symbolic enough, but that just didn't feel likely. “Maybe I'm looking at this wrong. Instead of trying to figure out where she is, maybe I need to figure out why she vanished.”_

“ _That seems reasonable enough.”_

_Korra frowned up at the spirit. “Why'd you say that?”_

“ _Because it seemed reasonable enough.”_

“ _I mean... that exact thing. I just thought that a minute ago.”_

“ _Well okay then.”_

“ _And that, too! Can you read my mind?”_

_The spirit giggled. “No. I'm not inside you.”_

_But Raava was. The biggest light spirit of them all._

_She sat up quickly, taking the Lotus position, fists pressed together. She calmed her mind—as well as she could. Enough, at least. “Raava? Raava, are you there?”_

“ _I am always here, Avatar. You wish to know why you cannot find your partner?”_

_Partner. “Yes. She could be drowning or being eaten by eagle sharks or—”_

“ _You cannot find her now for the same reason you could not find her before.”_

“ _Before? Before when?”_

“ _While you were lost, Korra. You went looking for yourself, but she already knew you. If you had found her then, she could have helped.”_

“ _I wasn't... I wasn't ready, then. I was still hurt, still—”_

“ _That would not have mattered to her. You know that.”_

“ _It mattered to me! I couldn't be with her, I couldn't be out in the world, I couldn't be_ myself _! She... she didn't deserve to be saddled with that.”_

“ _What about what you deserve, Korra?”_

“ _What I deserve?”_

“ _You have fought hard and you have sacrificed much.”_

“ _I'm the Avatar. That's my job.”_

“ _You are more than the Avatar. You are Korra. So few people in your life truly understand that. Cherish those that do.”_

“ _I do. Raava, I do! That's why I need to find her!”_

“ _Then do not focus on the pain you have felt. Do not dwell on the separation you feel. Admit to yourself that you are strong, that you are deserving. That no matter how hard your life has been, you are truly worthy of happiness. If you can accept that, then perhaps it will stop alluding you.”_

“ _I'm..._ I'm _keeping Asami away?”_

“ _You did for three years. You didn't feel worthy of her. Did that make her happier?”_

_Korra remembered all of Asami's confessions, how guilty she'd been for not visiting, how lonely she had felt without her. “No. No it didn't.”_

_Raava's warmth grew within her, comforting. “And how does she make you feel?”_

“ _Warm. Hot, sometimes. And... special. I mean, I'm the Avatar, I've always been special, but when she looks at me, and smiles, like all the rest of the world doesn't matter...”_

“ _Loving the Avatar is a difficult thing. You need a partner who does not simply love you, but loves you enough to help you love yourself. If Asami is that person, Korra, think of her smile, focus on how she makes you feel. And accept that you deserve it.”_

_Korra thought of Asami's smile, her lips. Her laugh. The care and joy and boundless support that always flowed from every little glance. She fell in love._

_Then she fell._

“ _Aah!” she had time to shout before flopping to the ground. Her poor backside was taking far too much abuse today._

_She wasn't in the swamp anymore. The trees around her were straight, spaced far too evenly, except for the big bush too her side. Wait, no, not a bush... it was the top of one of the trees. And it was making an awful lot of noise._

_Korra got to her feet, creeping around it. Little figures clambered along it's branches, into the nearby trees that were still upright. One of them looked down at her, holding a twig. “Big!” it said, tapping its chest with its tiny hand._

“ _Uh, you sure are,” Korra agreed. The spirit bounced happily, carrying the twig off._

_The canopy of the felled tree began to thin, so that Korra could peer through the leaves. There was Asami, sitting on the trunk, a circle of flowers in her hair. Hundreds of the little flower-backed spirits milled about her, gathering sticks and twigs and rolling around happy with fruit as big as they were. Asami sat there, a look of concentration on her face as she twisted slender sticks into a wide mesh._

“ _If you make them just like this, you can make ladders to get into the other trees,” she was explaining. “Once up there, you could weave yourself platforms, either to store your fruit or maybe just stay up there all the time. There are plenty of architectural possibilities once you... Korra?”_

_She stepped out from behind the leaves, covering her mouth. The little spirits parted as her feet brought her haltingly closer to Asami._

“ _You're okay?” Korra managed._

_Asami nodded slightly, touching the flowers in her hair. “They wanted the fruits, but they weren't big enough to get them. So I thought, while I waited for you, I might make it so—”_

_Korra reached her, pushed her hair back from her face._

_Their eyes met._

_She clasped Asami's hands. “I'm never letting go of these again, you realize that.”_

_Asami laughed. “Sorry if I scared you. I didn't realize what had happened, then I just—”_

_Korra kissed her softly, eyes closed. Warm inside._

_Around them, a hundred little voices chittered, “Wow!”_

_Korra chuckled. “Agreed.”_

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

Asami stood alone at the gunnery range behind her mans—behind her company headquarters. She'd set up a dozen targets for herself, at varying distances; she aimed at the furthest, using the new precision telescope she'd mounted to the barrel. The calibration was nearly there.

It had been weeks since she'd last practiced. Just like sparring kept her in fighting shape, she wanted to make sure this skill was ready, should the need ever arise. Plus, it was oddly relaxing.

She could use that right now.

The troubling part was, she didn't know why.

Everything was going so well. She'd made several huge sales, and secured Future Industries as the primary contractor both for building the new downtown, outside the former bounds of the city, and for developing around the Spirit Portal. The factory was back in working order, having finished the last systems tests today. Turning a few trucks into comfortable people-movers had gone unexpectedly fast as well, so she could start bringing workers in tomorrow and get production lines moving. And while her new headquarters still looked more like a mansion than an office building, all the equipment and all the people she needed were in place. Plus, she'd short-circuited three of Varrick's theft attempts with a few well-placed phone calls she wouldn't have thought to have placed, otherwise, so even that was working.

The only thing missing right now was Korra.

She squeezed off five shots, and peered through the scope. Her hits were clustered well, but drifted a finger-length down and over. She pulled a precision screwdriver from her pocket, making adjustments.

Asami's aim was always best when she was in this sort of off mood. Her mind compensated for gravity and wind like it was natural, not giving her time to overthink. She wasn't sure she liked that particular fact about herself, but she'd filed it away in case she ever needed it.

She finished her tweaks and reloaded. Korra had only been gone a day and a half. And she'd been fine a day ago, according to Tenni. Hardly any time at all. That couldn't be why she was so out of sorts.

But it would have helped to have Korra there to pull her out of it. Or spar with her. Or anything.

She remembered how expansive and cold their bed was with just one person in it.

She fired five more shots.

The nightmare had come back. Maybe, if she used the rifle enough, she'd have it in the dream. Maybe she could change how it played out.

Asami sighed, and began disassembling the rifle for cleaning. What was Korra doing now, right that moment? Had she told her parents? How had they reacted?

She hesitated, and clicked her rifle back together. Perhaps a few more minutes.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Suyin's expression grew harder with each step she took.

Kuvira had escaped. Guards were scouring the city for her, but Suyin knew the chances they'd find her were nil. The woman had been their captain for years, after all—she knew this city as well as Suyin did. Examining her escape route couldn't tell Su anything she didn't already know.

But she had to see.

Every still form Kuvira had left behind her. Every splash of crimson on the walls.

“How did this happen?” her husband asked, covering his mouth with a handkerchief.

“It doesn't matter,” Suyin said. Certainly not to the dead. “It's my fault.”

“Su,” he squeezed her shoulder. “Don't even think that.”

“No? I was the one who pushed for leniency when Raiko pushed for the death penalty. I was the one that said we were better than that, that society can't be out for blood. All my high ideals... she killed ten people, Bataar. And now she's out there, again, with armies still loyal to her.” Suyin sighed, her hands limp beside her. “Maybe I should have taken power in Ba Sing Se. Look at everything that's happened because I wouldn't compromise my philosophy...” She laughed darkly. “Maybe I'm just as much a radical as Kuvira is.”

“Su, that's enough. You're the strongest woman I know, but you could not have seen the future. None of this is your fault.”

“Maybe not,” she said, twining her fingers with his and resting her head against him. “But it's my responsibility.”

“But not yours alone. Republic City, Korra... once they hear we're in trouble, they'll come to help.”

She heard the hope in his voice, the reassurance, and allowed herself to believe, just a little.

But blood still stained her walls.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tenni's standard double-double knock came at Asami's door.

She straightened in her chair, setting down her drafting pencil. She was making real progress on this subterranean rail idea, but if she wanted to implement it in the new downtown before they started building, she had to work fast. Tenni wouldn't interrupt her in closed-door mode without good reason, though. “Yes?”

“Telephone for you.”

It had been ringing, hadn't it? She'd been so intent on her blueprints, she'd barely registered the sound, much less thought to respond to it. “Is it Korra?” Asami smiled hopefully.

“It's the president.”

Oh. “Probably shouldn't tell him to leave a message.” She pushed back from her drafting table, grabbing the telephone from her desk. “Mister President?”

“Miss Sato, finally,” the president said, sounding exasperated. She allowed herself a smile. “I would like to increase the United Republic's order on your rifles considerably. How quickly can you produce, say, twenty thousand of them, along with ammunition?”

Her eyes grew wide at the number. Twenty thousand? “We were about to go into production to fulfill the orders I already have. It will take at least a week to get to full capacity, which we're estimating is about four hundred a day. If I put all of my lines on it, I might be able to up that to six hundred, but I'm not trying to reorganize Future Industries around a single product.”

Twenty thousand. Had he decided to equip the entire army? “Hmf. I would be willing to up my price for the rushed order.”

Asami opened her mouth. She could certainly use the extra capital. Still... “Sir, is there any particular reason for this haste?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“If I'm to be fast-tracking a large order of weapons of war for you, it _is_ my concern.”

Raiko's annoyed sigh was more gratifying than she wished to admit. “We've lost communication with Zaofu. Before it was cut off, they'd reported that remnants of Kuvira's army were unaccounted for. I've sent what help I could via airship, but I'd like to put together a relief effort.”

Mako and Su. “I'll reset our lines immediately, Mister President. You'll have to contract Varrick for the ammunition for now, he's better situated to mass produce that.”

“I have. Cabbage Corp, as well.”

Asami winced—she didn't like the idea of that company making money off of her product, much less what might happen if their shoddy quality caused problems. But if they needed a large quantity in a short time, it couldn't be helped. “Still, this seems awfully early to be deploying a new weapon. You're sure the troops are proficient enough with them?”

“Perhaps not as expert as you or I would like, but General Iroh is confident. He assures me that the shock value alone of their capability will make up for any other inadequacies, and the experienced trainers he brought in from the Fire Nation are already helping whip our riflemen into shape.”

He sounded confident, but then, Raiko often displayed more confidence than sense. She'd help, and Future Industries would profit from it, but she was already thinking of a few additional responses of her own. “Is there anything else, President Raiko?”

“Um... yes. One other thing. I have been unable to contact the Avatar on this matter. Would you be so kind as to inform her?”

The forced courtesy was delicious. “Certainly, sir. I will tell her as soon as I can. Good day.”

She hung up the phone, and looked to Tenni, notepad already in hand. “We need to reset the production lines for rifles, as fast as we can. Also, I want the disposition of our entire airship fleet on my desk within the hour.”

Tenni raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to ask. “Anything else?”

Asami rounded her desk, picking up the phone again. She had calls to make. “I'll let you know.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Perhaps they should have stayed the night in the weird little portal town. They'd been moving for hours, but it felt like they hadn't gotten anywhere.

She'd been talking to her parents that whole time, too, and had made just as much progress.

Maybe Naga's back wasn't the best place to let her parents know she liked girls, and one in particular. That should be done face to face, probably. But somewhere well before they reached Republic City. Give them time to digest the information.

“Look at all this timber,” Tonraq said, watching the forest as they passed through. “Barely any time from the portal at all. It took dozens of truckloads of imported lumber to build the portal depot. Getting supplies here will be much easier.”

“I'm not sure about that, Dad,” Korra said. “The spirits aren't too happy with how we treat the environment in our own world. They'd be pretty irritated if we started messing up theirs.”

“Of course,” he said. “I wouldn't want to profane another spiritual site. But surely there's something we could use, if we did so respectfully.”

Mom said nothing. Her hands held onto Korra loosely, enough to keep her balance, barely enough to show she was there.

Korra bit her lip. Did she already know? Was she mad? Disapproving? Disappointed? Mom had been there for her during her whole recovery, even when she'd lashed out and tried to push everyone away. The idea that she might not accept her...

“So, Mom,” she ventured, “have you gone shell diving lately? The season is about right for it, right?”

“No. I didn't see the point.”

“Not... not for your favorite stew?” In truth, it was Korra's favorite stew, but Mom had always enjoyed making it. “Or the occasional arctic pearl?”

She didn't reply.

Dad sighed. “Korra, you think maybe Naga could use a little rest?”

“Sure.” Naga felt ready to go for days yet—the poor girl was stir-crazy from all the time on the island. But she hunkered down obediently, letting the waterbenders off.

Korra made a show of stretching her legs, waiting. Mom straightened her furs, then turned to stroke Naga. Neither of them looked at the other.

Dad crossed his arms, looking at them both. “Alright. Senna, you have something to say to our daughter?”

She cast him a quick glare. “We agreed we weren't going to ambush her.”

“Yes, Senna, we did. That was before you turned our first time together in eight months into a death march. If this is going to wear on you this badly while we're with her, then you'd best be out with it now.”

“Mom?” Korra asked, not even trying to hide the fear in her voice. “Mom, are we okay?”

Her mother closed her eyes. “I love you, Korra, and I always will, but... no. We aren't.”

Korra's throat hitched. “But... why? We aren't... I mean, you've met her already, you heard about all the time we spent together. You always seemed to like her. How can you have a problem with...?”

Mom frowned, turning to Dad. He shrugged. “Korra, what are you talking about?”

They both looked confused. She hadn't said Asami's name—she was scared to, if Mom was so against it—but if they knew about their relationship, how could that have been confusing? “I... what are you mad at, then?”

Her mom took a deep breath. “The fact that you aren't even aware of it makes it all the more... Korra, have we ever done anything but support you?”

Naga's warm fur pressed against her back. “I... what? No, of course you have.”

“Of course we have. Even when we found out you were the Avatar, and the White Lotus took you from us, for your own safety, we never abandoned you. We fought for as much time with you as we could, we pushed for freedom for you, for independence. When you ran away to Republic City, when you sided _against_ your father in the civil war, I never begrudged your right to find your own way, to make your own decisions. I've spent the last twenty years terrified of what could happen to you, fearing the worst. And you... you pay me back my lying to me?”

Korra didn't understand. She saw her mother's tears, and understood even less. How had she hurt her? How could she have? She glanced at her father, but his face was impassive, his arms crossed. Mom spoke for them both. “Mom, I don't... what do you mean?”

“The _letters_ , Korra. Six months of letters. 'I'm having a great time in Republic City with my friends. Don't worry about me. Everything is wonderful.' Instead, you were wandering the world, doing... I still don't know _what_ you were doing!”

“I didn't want you to worry!” Korra gasped out. “I was alone and I was scared, but there was nothing more I could get back home, I had to go find it myself—”

“So you lied to us.” Mom shook her head. “After everything we've done for you, always, you couldn't respect us enough to tell us the truth?” She looked down, her gloved hands making fists in Naga's fur. “You had to go and make a liar out of me, too?”

She was lost again. “I... what?”

Her father glanced at Senna, his arms loosening as if they wanted to touch her, comfort her, but he forced them to remain crossed. “When I arrived in Republic City for Wu's coronation, it was under the full expectation that you would be there to meet me. _Somebody_ had been covering for you the entire time.”

Covering?

“You sent us letters, so we wouldn't worry,” Mom said, speaking into Naga's side, her back to both of them. “Did you think all your friends' letters would just stop?” She shook her head. “They kept coming. Especially Asami's.”

Oh.

Crap.

“Mom,” she said, reaching toward her. “I'm so, so sorry. I didn't realize... I didn't even think you'd do something like that.”

“Neither did I,” Dad muttered.

“Was I supposed to let you worry?” Mom asked, her voice tired of an argument they'd clearly had before. “You had a tribe to govern and she clearly didn't want us involved. Which of you was I supposed to side with?”

“We promised that there'd be never be secrets between us, Senna. You broke that.”

“It wasn't _my_ secret!” Senna shouted back.

“Stop!” Korra shouted, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around her mother's waist. “Please...” she sobbed, “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't fight. You never fight...”

Rustling came from the bushes nearby. Korra leapt to her feet, waterbending the tears from her face to see what was coming.

“Korra,” Iroh said, stepping from the shadows. “It is good to see you again.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

With her own door into Tenni's office open, Asami could hear the strange sound from the hallway as easily as her secretary could. Scratching, like when Pabu wanted into a cupboard, persistently rattling the door against the frame.

The two women blinked at each other. “Come in,” Tenni said, projecting to be heard.

The scratching continued.

Tenni looked at Asami. She shrugged, equally mystified. Finally, Tenni got up and opened the door.

A fox dog spirit sauntered into the office, a scroll clasped in its jaw. It trotted past Tenni, into Asami's office, and hopped up so its fore-paws were on her desk so it could deposit the scroll in front of her.

Asami unrolled it, stifling a chuckle. Won Xi Tong, as it turned out, had exquisite calligraphy. She tried to imagine the owl spirit holding a pen, and couldn't hold her chuckle back. “I have just the thing,” she told the spirit, moving to examine her reference bookshelf.

What would do well… _Principles of Electrochemistry_ , only a few years old. She’d been meaning to purchase the new edition anyway.

Asami scrawled a quick note as the spirit as her secretary watched in rapt silence. “Once it re-opens, I’ll take you to the library. We’ll get you a card.”

The spirit’s tongue lolled out happily. She scratched its head, slipped her folded note beneath the book's cover, and sent the spirit on its way.

Tenni watched it go, then turned back toward her, her entire face a question.

“Now that Korra's back, I needed a new pen pal,” Asami said.

The secretary shook her head. “Sure know how to keep work interesting...” she muttered, returning to her desk.

Asami leaned back into her own chair, and sighed. Remembering the library with Korra only reminded her that she wasn't with her now. Writing Won Xi Tong reminded her of two years of one-sided correspondence. The order for Zaofu brought back flashes of their happy time there, in younger days. Of the frightening times that came after.

Of the rifle she was working on.

Everything came back to Korra.

She shook, growling at herself. She knew Korra had a duty to the world. This would happen. She'd be gone on missions for weeks at a time. Months maybe.

Her heart quailed, and she heard herself whimper.

Asami set her head on her desk. When had she gotten so pathetic?

She glanced at the clock, and gave herself thirty seconds to wallow. To acknowledge her heartache, ridiculous as it might be. To imagine Korra's voice in the room.

Time's up.

She straightened, and got back to work. Too much to do.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tenzin fidgeted impatiently. He'd wanted to sit down with the men and women in Thunder's bar and ask them directly what 'options' she was referring to.

“Awfully direct, for an airbender,” Zuko had said. “Let me do the talking.”

As if he hadn't been doing that already.

So he sat, and listened. Which seemed to be what Zuko had in mind.

The four malcontents were more than happy to allow someone to pay for their drinks. The former Fire Lord coaxed their stories out of them, interjecting only occasionally when the topic drifted to their present action. Tenzin understood—Zuko was taking time, building rapport, trying to understand their situation. Still, hearing details on their current plans would have been helpful. He was desperate to understand the full picture in Kuodan, while instead they were examining tiny pieces.

Tiny, shattered pieces.

Xin, bitter about the meaninglessness of his life, the monotony of the only job he'd known. The great gift passed down from his grandmother, his firebending, reduced to heating water in a turbine for twelve hours a day, every day, until coal made even that use obsolete.

Maon, sitting unevenly on the bench, a crutch leaned against the wall behind him. He still felt his missing leg, felt it twitch and ache, but could do nothing for it. The pain never went away fully, not without a pint or two numb it. His family too far away and too poor to help him, no factory or workhouse in town willing to take a cripple who smelled of ale.

Hu, who could speak only of how her daughter used to smile, how her other children never did, now. She refused to speak of work at all, only staring into her drink when pressed.

Wen's graphic account of watching his brother, arm caught in the gear work of a pneumatic press, screams drowned out by the noise around them as Wen held on, fingers gripping his brother's hand, pulling and pulling vainly until the arm was attached to nothing...

Tenzin did not speak, for he didn't know what to say. He knew, objectively, that there was suffering in the world, but to see it so callously inflicted, so matter-of-fact in people's lives? He'd never seen anything like it. But the subtext of their looks, the mutterings about Boss Taka, about Kuodan, even about the Fire Nation itself, all seemed far too familiar.

It was the same tone in the air as Amon rose to power. He'd been aloof and distant then, unable—or, to his shame, unwilling—to act.

Now, he saw it coming. But what action could he take?

Fire Lord Izumi had called him to deal with a spiritual crisis. Then she'd warned him to stay out of her domestic affairs.

How could he convince her the problems were one in the same? Her problems ran deeper than spirits displeased with industry. Kuodan had become so spiritually bankrupt that it didn't even value its people's lives anymore.

And more likely than not, there were other towns like it.

Dusky light flashed through the door as it opened. Xin glared at it, rising to his feet. “So. They've finally come.”

Tenzin stood as well, wishing to be courteous to the half-dozen armed soldiers who had marched through the door. Zuko remained seated, eyes narrowed, muscles tense. Xin cracked his knuckles. Wen stared at the table, his back tight.

One soldier stepped in front of the others. “Hu, Maon, Xin—”

Wen spun to his feet, tackling the officer before he could say his name. Maon swung his crutch, hitting another in the face. Two of the other soldiers rushed the table, one barely ducking a fire blast from Xin. Zuko kicked his stool away, rushing to his feet.

The soldiers fired.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Asami parked her car at the work site later than she'd planned, simultaneously happy to have seen so many people in the city again but also missing having the roads all to herself. She spotted Chu and Wong immediately, and grabbed her bundle of blueprints and notes.

“Foreman. Esteemed Chu.” She gave them both a formal half bow.

“Miss Sato.” “Chu.”

“I brought some plans for you, before we get too far setting the foundations for new downtown.”

She reached to hand them to Wong, but Chu's tongue lashed out, yanking them from her hand. She yelped, then brushed her sides with her now-empty hands, embarrassed.

Wong had apparently resigned himself to Chu's ways long since, moving behind the spirit to look over the blueprints as well.

“Train caves beneath the city. Chu...”

Asami straightened her back. “Yes. Old downtown had elevated trains that trailed out into the suburbs, but they're such a noisy eyesore that I thought—”

“Perhaps you understand more than you understand.” Chu said, before pondering a moment and adding, “Chu.”

Was that a compliment? She decided to take it as one. “The idea is preliminary. Drainage and ventilation will be the major issues, we have to make sure the tunnels don't flood or fill up with bad air.”

“Don't you wish to know what you understood?” Chu asked.

Her mouth worked. “Uh... sure. I mean yes.”

Chu rolled the plans up, pointing them at the ground. “Roots,” he said. “Connection. Each building is its own thing, Chu, and it is not. Energy flows, life flows between everything. Treating things as if separate will only create a sickness. This,” he waved the blueprints at her, “flows.”

The approval might have been more gratifying if that had made more sense. It sounded like a fine philosophy, but as a foundational design principle? There was no way she, or anyone, could literally plan every aspect of the entire city all at once. “Thank you,” she said. “Since you... both?” a glance at Wong showed he was interested as well, “seem so keen on the project, I would like you two to take it over. I may be out of town for a little while and this will be easier to build if we start now.”

“Out of town?” Wong asked.

Asami nodded. “Also, I need to borrow Zaofu's metalbenders for a few days.”

Wong frowned. “You'll have to take that up with them. Suyin Beifong tasked them with rebuilding the city.”

“I'm aware. That's why I know they'll help me now.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Okay, Wing, how about this?” Wu asked, switching back into his singing voice. “ _Ba Sing Se girls are fine indeed, but Republic City's are refined/ You can find warm blood down in Harbor Town, with more than fishing on their mind._ ”

Mako rolled his eyes. They'd been driving off road for several hours, navigating by landmark to try to gain time on Torru and his cohorts. Wing had a great sense of direction, and Tsu Ying turned out to be excellent at orienteering.

“It's Harbor City, not 'Harbor Town.'” Tsu Ying corrected. “I thought you'd know the nations' capitals at least.”

“That doesn't flow well though. Besides, Republic City, Harbor City, Capital City... you can't put the same word in a song too often. It's just bad lyricism.”

Tsu Ying turned to the firebender for support. He shrugged. “He has a point. And as much as I hate to say it, a little music makes the trip a little easier.” Wu peered over the front seat, beaming. Why had he gone and encouraged him? “Wish these things had radios.”

“They do have radios,” Wing said, pointing at the transmitter/receiver between him and Wu.

“I meant, the musical kind. But I guess there's no stations out here.”

“Oh, oh!” Wu bounced in his seat from excitement, more than the bumpy terrain. “What if somebody invented something so we could take music with us?”

“What, like a phonograph?” Wing asked. “It would skip every time we hit a bump.”

“And it would be awfully hard to hear over the road noise,” Mako said. He had to lean forward to hear their conversation half the time. Which, conversely, meant he could ignore it by leaning back. “Plus, it would be an unsafe distraction for the driver.”

Tsu Ying snorted. “Not as unsafe as boredom. Think of those long-haul drivers, shipping goods away from the rail depots. The ones who came though Guanlin were half out of their minds by the time they got there.”

“Guanlin?” Wing asked. “Is that where you're from?”

“Yeah,” she said, head turned slightly away as if she was on guard. “Why?”

“According to the map, it's nearby.”

Tsu Ying licked her lips, looking away. “I'm... aware. The mountains are familiar.”

“Should we stop?” Wing asked.

It had been some time. They were fine on gas and supplies, but Tsu Ying's connection to the locals might give them extra aid or information. But if she'd wanted to stop there, she would have said something. Her memories of the place clearly still pained her.

She was watching him, waiting for his answer.

He leaned away from the front seat, scooting toward her. Wing and Wu wouldn't be able to hear them over the engine and the road. “What do you think?” he asked.

Her hands were clasped in her lap. She looked at the floor. “It's your mission. If you think it would help, some people did stay there. Afterwards.”

“Hey,” he said, tilting his head down to catch her eye. “If it was just about that, I wouldn't be asking. Right? You're on my team, and your the one most impacted. I want you to make the call.”

Her eyes closed. She took a breath, nodding slightly. “We should stop.”

He touched her arm. “You're sure?”

Tsu Ying's nod grew firmer. “Yes. But... thank you.”

He gave her a quick smirk. Then the light must have hit her face in a suddenly-flattering way, because there's no way she had blushed.

“Wing,” Mako said, voice raised so he could be heard without leaning away, “contact the other jeep. We're stopping in Guanlin.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 _BAM BAM BAM_ “Sato!”

“Aah!” she shouted, leaping out of her living room and gathering her nightgown in front of her. It took a moment for the voice to register.

It would take longer to figure out why Varrick was on her balcony.

She sighed, composed herself, and stepped out of the hall. She stopped in front of the glass balcony door, resting a hand on her hip. “Iknik.”

“I told you, that sounds weird!” he said, his voice muffled by the glass.

She raised an eyebrow, peering past him. “Zhu Li. You helped him get there?”

Zhu Li blushed. “He doesn't know how to use the glider pack.” She pointed to the contraption strapped to her back. “And he refused to use the telephone.”

“Of course not! This is important, and there are ears everywhere. They could even be in your apartment! Asami, come out here with us.”

Asami rolled her eyes, unlocking the door and stepping out. “What?”

“We got problems, Sato. I couldn't steal your guns.”

She crossed her arms. “That's the idea. I stopped you three times already.”

“No, I know that. But one of my plans _did_ work, only when I got to where the guns were supposed to be, they weren't there. Someone else already got 'em!”

Asami straightened, eyes turning to Zhu Li for confirmation. The other engineer nodded grimly.

“What can you tell me?” Asami asked.

“Wearing a cunning disguise, I infiltrated General Iroh's depot and presented his quartermaster with some expertly forged requisition documents for the Republic City Police. He said that there had to be some mistake, and I thought I was nicked for sure, but the problem was the police shipment was already picked up.”

“Lin didn't want any of the rifles, though,” Asami said.

“I know that!” He swiped his hand, forcing Asami and Zhu Li both to duck. “I even called her to double check! I got a copy of the other requisition form, and darned if it wasn't just as good as mine! Exactly as good, even! As in, it came from the same forger.”

“How many forgers do you know, Varrick?”

“All the best ones! Who turn out all to be the same gal with a ton of different names. Nobody knows what the real one is, all her documents are fake.”

Of course.

Zhu Li put a hand on her husband's shoulder, stepping forward. “The point Varrick will eventually get to is, this forger gets most of her business from the Triads.”

“I thought Korra, Lin, and Bolin got most of them thrown in prison,” Asami said. “I'm horrified that any of my rifles are in their hands, but one crate doesn't counteract the loss of all their muscle.”

Varrick nodded violently. “What do you think they want all those guns for? They're gonna stage a breakout!”

“Lin already knows,” Zhu Li said, as panic reached Asami's eyes. “She... had a few choice words for you.”

Asami winced. “I'm sure. Do you know when?”

“The theft was only three days ago,” Zhu Li said. “They can't possibly have them fully figured out by now, and their ammunition is limited. We're conducting a thorough audit of our own security, making sure we have visual confirmation on everything we've made so far. It's all accounted for.”

She started to relax, then stopped and growled. “Cabbage Corp. Raiko has them making bullets too.”

“Aw, heck!” Varrick said, stomping away. “Their security is garbage! Half of their stuff is probably stolen already and they don't even realize it!”

Asami stepped past them, spreading her arms out to rest on the railing. She stared down at the spirit portal, willing Korra to return.

The light column pulsed serenely. Nobody came through.

“I'll call Lin,” she said, already dreading the conversation. She'd be so smug, pointing out every warning she'd given her. “We may be able to spin this our way... Zhu Li, can you be available?”

She nodded.

“Good,” Asami said. “I only have a few days—other plans are already in motion. But if this works out...”

A wicked grin grew across her face. If this worked out, she might prove her points to Lin. “I don't suppose you know which gangs are involved, do you? The Agni Kais?”

“As far as I can tell, it's all of 'em.” Varrick said. “They got hit so bad, their pooling their resources to strike back.”

Oh yes.

She could work with this.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of our girls getting separated on their vacation intrigued me, and gave me something interesting to explore. Plus, now Asami can have a story that ends 'and then they made me their chief.' 
> 
> Lots of Asami this chapter to make up for the last! Have I mentioned I love her? She's not in a great mood though, but she just channels that into Plans and Schemes. Perhaps sublimating like that isn't the healthiest thing to do, but at least it's efficient. 
> 
> Korra and her family -- Here's a methodology I've developed: find a plot hole, then fill it with angst. 
> 
> You didn't think I forgot the plotline of Wu's singing career, did you? The whole last season built up to it, after all! Yeah and the rest of Mako's subplot cast are there too. 
> 
> Varrick at the end there probably doesn't think the walls LITERALLY have ears, he's just gotten paranoid that everything is bugged. Is this the beginning of his Howard Hughes-like descent into madness? Eh could be. 
> 
> Hmm, was there a plotline I forgot to mention here? Ah well I'm sure it'll take care of itself.
> 
> Yet again, thanks to wordcatchers for betaing!


	11. Shadows of Memory

_It was an old nightmare, its trajectory worn deep into her psyche from years of repetition. Even recognizing it as a nightmare was no comfort, provided no escape._

_It always proceeded the same way._

_Zaheer loomed overhead, swooping silently through the air. Monstrous in intent, yet even within her dream still human. Still flesh and blood._

_That made it worse._

_The nightmare never went away. Not completely. These last few nights, with warmth pressed against her, had been the only peace she'd had in years. She'd searched for it, for anything that could end this nightly torture, but all the time she'd known what it would take to overcome the flashes from that day._

_The worst day in a life of terrible days. For three years, it had haunted her. She was on the ground,_

_useless,_

_impotent,_

_the insane airbender_

_floating above her,_

_murdering the woman she loved._

_High up atop a column of earth, far beyond Asami's reach, Zaheer pulled Korra's breath from her lungs, the very life flashing out of Korra's eyes while Asami reached up, unable to stop him, unable to scream, unable to move. Already on her knees, Korra swayed, and fell, and—_

_Asami stifled a groan, opening her eyes, quickly wakened by the never-setting sun. Even after years, that nightmare had never stopped—though now, sometimes, Zaheer was joined by Kuvira, or her mecha-suit. Sometimes her father was there, in Korra's place, or at Korra's side. Or in place of Zaheer. Compared to that, simply reliving the most powerless, terrifying moment of her life as it had happened was almost welcome._

_Sometimes, it ended as it had. Korra, broken and weak in her father's arms, reaching up, then fading away. Sometimes, Asami held her herself. Sometimes it was Hiroshi—her dreams were still trying to figure out what to think about him. But every time, the dream ended with Korra's reaching hand, losing the last of its strength._

_Nearly every time she slept, she had to watch Korra die._

_The sleeping bag was open, and mostly kicked away. Korra wasn't with her, but she hadn't gone far—she was squatting at the edge of the camp, hugging her knees, watching the too-blue river snake through crystalline fields below._

_Asami shuffled up beside her, resting a hand on Korra's shoulder as she crouched herself. “You okay?”_

_Korra responded with a noncommittal grunt._

_She sat the rest of the way down, resting her head on Korra's shoulder. “Thanks for rescuing me today, by the way.” She ran the back of her fingers up Korra's arm. “I'm not sure if I said that.”_

“ _You seemed to be doing alright by yourself. You were practically building a city for those little guys. Guess I shouldn't have worried.”_

“ _I worry about you all the time. It's kind of flattering to know you worry back.” She smiled, but Korra just sighed, still not looking at her. “Seriously, what's wrong?”_

“ _Nothing. I just... I wonder what would've happened if you were a year younger.”_

“ _What do you mean? You saying I'm too old for you?” she teased._

_The jibe went flat. “I just... the way you handled those spirits, and Won Xi Tong. The way you handle everything. Never been to the Spirit World, but you're already an expert. You aren't a bender, but you can take any of them in a fight. Nothing ever gets to you. Nothing ever... ever breaks you.”_

_Asami's affectionate touch became a comforting hold._

“ _I just... I feel like Raava made a mistake. Like you would've made a better Avatar than me.”_

_Asami straightened, grabbing Korra's hands. “That's just not true.”_

_Korra met her gaze. “Why not? I've messed up everything I try to do, even if I eventually got most of it right. You? You never mess up anything.”_

_She raised her hand to Korra's cheek. Korra leaned into it. “I make plenty of mistakes, Korra. I'm just good at covering them. You have the biggest heart in the world, and all the mistakes you make come from trying the be the best person you can.”_

“ _That doesn't mean they aren't mistakes.”_

“ _No, it doesn't.” Asami let out a breath. “Don't judge me, but... you want to know how I would have done as an Avatar?”_

_She nodded, softly._

_Asami licked her lips. “When Unalaq captured Jinora, and threatened to kill her if you didn't open the second portal... I feel terrible even saying this, but I would have let him.”_

_Korra tensed. “Asami...”_

“ _I told you, it's awful. But I know, if I was there, in your place, I would have run the numbers. Cold numbers. I would never do anything to hurt Jinora, you know that, but the choice boiled down to her life against the entire world. Even for my friend, I couldn't take that risk. And I'd still be hating myself for it today.”_

_Korra looked away, but she didn't recoil. “Do you think I made a mistake?”_

“ _Not at all,” Asami answered at once. “That was the calculation I would have made, but it was a false choice. It wasn't one or the other. The path you took narrowed your options, it was a risk, but look what came of it. Look where we are!” She gestured at the valley below, glittering in the breeze. Iridescent spirits flitted around the crystal flowers, cavorting flashes of pink and green and purple. “You've made the world a better place, Korra. At best, I would've made it efficient.”_

_Korra chuckled. “Well, I certainly haven't done that.”_

_Asami smiled, repositioning them so they could look into the valley with their heads resting against each other._

“ _Thank you for making me laugh,” Korra said._

“ _Thank you for coming back,” Asami replied._

“ _You said you weren't worried.”_

“ _Today? I wasn't. That's not what I meant, though.”_

“ _Oh. I... guess I did come back in the nick of time. Kuvira would have taken the city if I hadn't gotten my act together.”_

“ _That's not what I meant either. I missed you.”_

“ _I... I missed you too.”_

_It sounded like she'd thought better of saying something else. Asami didn't pursue it. “C'mon. Let's try to get a little more sleep.”_

_They laid back down, Asami wrapping herself in Korra's arms, where the nightmares couldn't touch her._

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

Lin wanted to tear up Asami's note, crumple it, hurl it across the room. She'd _told_ the woman...

Instead, she sneered, slipping it into a locked door of her desk. “How much do you know about this?” she asked.

Bolin shrugged. “Asami said she wanted my help, then she gave me that note to bring to you. I'm not sure why she couldn't come herself or call you or something, but she said she needed a go-between she could trust.”

Lin could have read between the lines if Asami hadn't spelled it out. She pulled out the forms Asami had requested, and the hardware that went with, and handed them to Bolin. “You mind taking all this back?”

“Should I do it all sneaky-like?”

She snorted. Bolin's 'sneaky' would just attract more attention. “How about you just go have lunch with your friend.”

“I'm not sure how that would help but OH. It could be a fake lunch to give her this stuff. _Disguised_ as a regular lunch. Clever.” He winked.

Her eye twitched. “Just get out of my office. I've got calls to make.” She picked up her telephone, glaring at Bolin over the mouthpiece. “This is the Chief,” she snapped at the exchange operator. “Get me General Iroh's office.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Korra led Naga, walking at Iroh's side. Her parents followed, just barely behind, but far enough they shouldn't be able to overhear their conversation. Which was convenient, as she had one pressing question for the venerable old man:

“How is it that I spent _two weeks_ in here with Asami, and we couldn't find you no matter how hard I tried. I all but _promised_ her a game of Pai Sho with the most famous Grand Lotus of all time, and nope, you're nowhere. But my parents and I are in here a few hours, and you stumble into the worst argument we've ever had?”

Iroh chuckled in his kindly way, which could be a little irritating when you were annoyed at him. “The Spirit World may be a little unpredictable, but in a way, it's really not. It tends to put people where they need to be. Perhaps you were with the person you needed already?”

She was suddenly not annoyed with him at all. “So, you know about us then?”

He smiled, shaking his head. “No, but I see the look in your eyes, and it makes me happy. Then, I see the look in their eyes...” he glanced back at her parents, “and I think, there is a family in need of some nice, warm tea.” As he finished speaking, the forest around them cleared, revealing the little cottage he'd taken her to before.

Korra rubbed Naga's side. “Go ahead and play in the field, just stay where we can see you, okay?”

Naga's tongue lolled from her mouth, and she bounded away, pawing after little golden hummingbirds. They made her think at once of Asami, but she pushed the thought away. She had to deal with her parents first.

They stepped up behind her, watching Iroh set places for four around his table.

“That's not _actually_ Iroh, is it?” her mother asked.

“Korra's told us she met him before,” said dad.

“Yes, but... he died decades ago. Does everybody's spirit come here when they die?”

Both of them turned to her. “Uh... I don't exactly have past lives to ask anymore.” As close as she'd been to death before, she didn't enjoy dwelling on it. “I'm a pretty well-known special case, anyway.”

“But what happens if he tries to leave the Spirit World?” her dad asked. She shrugged.

“Come on!” Iroh waved.

She glanced back, noticed their shared skeptical looks. Still, they followed her.

Iroh was already pouring as they sat. “I always leave a little on the fire for guests,” he said, pouring from Raava's ancient teapot. “You never know who might need to be warmed up.”

“Thank you,” his mother said, nodding politely.

“Yes,” her father added, scratching the back of his neck. “I... should we introduce ourselves?”

“Only if you wish me to know your names,” Iroh said, sitting beside Korra and inhaling the vapor from his cup.

“Sorry,” Korra said. “Iroh, these are my parents, Senna and Tonraq. He's the chief of the Southern Water Tribe, by the way.”

Iroh nodded toward him. “The pressures of leadership can be difficult for a man to bear. And just as difficult for his family.”

Korra's parents looked at each other, neither having any idea how to respond to that, from _Iroh_. They both sipped their tea.

Iroh continued, barreling through the awkwardness. “You should both be very proud. You blessed the world with a strong and caring young woman. And a cute little girl, too!”

Korra groaned, blushing. “Oh, Spirits... you had to bring that up, didn't you?”

“Bring what up?” Dad asked.

“Last time I shared tea with her, Korra was very scared and uncertain,” Iroh began.

Korra rested her head against the table. “Do we have to?”

“She was here in spirit alone, her body meditating in the material world. Without your body to anchor you, the Spirit World's rules hold sway, and Korra came to me as a lost little girl. Her hair in one messy tail, her belly hanging out like she was growing into it.”

She heard Senna laugh, but refused to lift her head. This was her punishment, clearly.

“Korra _was_ pretty cute,” her mother conceded. “When she wasn't setting the house on fire...”

“That was pretty cute too, honestly,” Dad said.

She raised her forehead just enough to drop it onto the table.

Iroh patted her shoulder. “Don't be embarrassed, Korra. You're a strong and capable person, but you will also always be their little girl.”

Korra folded her arms around her head. “I remember when I was hurting, and scared, and Dad just picked me up and just... held me. I heard his voice, how he'd make the hurting stop, how he'd keep me safe.”

“I always tried,” he said. “Even when you grew too big for me to lift.”

Tears strained against her eyes when she looked up at him. “I'm talking about three years ago. I thought you were dead, I thought I'd gotten you killed, but then there you were, there was your voice. I felt myself dying, but I heard you. I'd seen you fall, I thought you were gone, and my thought, my last thought was, Dad's here for me. He'll make it stop. One way or another...”

Her mom's breath caught. Korra nestled back into her own arms. “I'm... sorry. Mom, Dad. I've been a bad kid.”

“No!” her father said, over her mother's, “Korra—”

“Whatever you'd planned for yourselves, whatever you'd wanted for our family, when I became the Avatar, you just... let all of that go. You stood there for years, supporting my training, supporting _me_ , and I just... I never appreciated it. I was so obsessed with becoming the Avatar, with living up to Aang and Roku and Kyoshi and all the rest, that I took you for granted. I took Naga for granted. I took As... everyone. Everything for granted. And then I got hurt, and you set aside everything _again_ , especially you Mom, you were there all the time, you never complained, no matter how sad or angry or mean I got. I was selfish, I was—”

Her mom reached across the table, clasping her hands. She looked up, peering into her mother's face. Had she always had those wrinkles there? Were those all her fault?

“Korra...” she said. “Don't worry about how you were as child. All children are selfish. And then you were hurt, and... I won't pretend you didn't hurt me, when you lied. I won't pretend I understand it. But I love you. _We_ love you.”

“I'm sorry,” Korra said.

“We know,” Dad replied, his hands over hers.

“I'm trying to be better.”

Mom smiled, and opened her mouth. But she said nothing.

She was still hurt. She couldn't forgive her, not yet.

A lump rose in her throat.

“I know a little about adolescents with a destiny,” Iroh said, holding his thumb and finger close. “My nephew was much the same. Zuko was born into a role, and he did everything he could to excel at it. But it was not for him, and it was not what the world needed. I tried to help him, to guide him. I was there to pick him up after his mistakes. Life was hard on him, but he was even harder on himself. When Azula tricked him into betraying me, I was not hurt by his decision. I was sad, that he might not become the good person I knew he wanted to be.”

Iroh refilled his tea. His lips curved in a slight smile, distant. Proud, yet bittersweet. “But in the end, it was for the best. Zuko became a wise leader and a good man, and he did it by discovering his own way.”

“I've met Lord Zuko,” Dad said. “You raised a fine man.”

“I'm glad,” Iroh said simply, with so much weight and truth behind the words. “But Zuko found his own way. That's what Korra needed to do.”

“I didn't need to find a way that involved lying to my parents,” Korra said, downcast.

Iroh shrugged. “Did you think it was the right decision then?”

“Yes. No. I... I don't know. I had to get away. Disappear. I couldn't be the Avatar anymore. I couldn't be Korra. They just... they didn't deserve that. I didn't want them to know how lost I was.”

“Honey,” her mom said, fingers stroking her hand.

“Do you think it was the right decision, now?” Iroh asked.

She shook her head. “It was selfish. I... I'm not good at letting other people care about me. It took me a long time to realize, sometimes caring for somebody else helps you, too. I should have let you all have that. I should have let you love me.”

Her mom squeezed her hand. She looked up, and saw her smiling. “And who, might I ask, has been teaching you about love, young lady?”

Korra froze. “Heh... heh what do you mean?”

Dad nudged Mom's shoulder. “I think that means she forgives you, Korra. Now tell us about your girl... I mean, tell us what's going on in your life.”

Korra gaped. “You know!”

“Know what?” Mom said, withdrawing her hands to calmly sip her tea.

“Who told you! Was it Tenzin? Kya?”

Dad rolled his eyes. “We've known about Asami for years, Korra. I'm just glad you both figured it out.”

She sputtered. “ _Years?_ How? When?!”

Iroh chuckled, leaving the family alone at the table.

“You mean, besides you talking about her all the time, reading her letters again and again, never sending a letter to anybody but her?” Her mom asked, ticking off fingers with each thing she mentioned. “Besides the way she took care of you when you were hurt? Offered to come south with you? Sent letters to me when you didn't respond, just to make sure you were okay?”

“That's... all normal things for best friends to do, though. Right?”

Dad chuckled, setting his tea aside so he could lean forward on the table. His face grew serious. “Korra, we never talk about when Zaheer captured you.”

“It was a bad time,” Korra said, surprised at the lack of impact the subject made. No terrifying visions of herself, no thundering heart or loss of breath. A little residual heartache for all the time she lost. “I don't like to dwell on it.”

“Neither do we,” her mom said, moving around the table to sit on the bench beside Korra and wrap her arm around her.

“We came to rescue you,” Dad continued, smiling at them. “It was me, the Beifong sisters, and your friends. Everybody was nervous on the way there, everybody was afraid for you. Bolin was talky, Mako was sullen, but Asami... she was focused. Tense. Almost brittle, I thought. But when we infiltrated the caves, and came under attack from some earthbenders, Asami was the one who leapt at them and took them out. Five powerful benders, hiding behind a rock wall, and this remarkable young woman charged ahead, into danger, to save you. Not so brittle, after all. The look on her face, Korra, it was... More than anyone else there, maybe even more than myself, I could tell that Asami Sato would not rest until she knew you were safe. I'd suspected a little when you two came out of the desert, but after that...”

Korra exhaled. Mom squeezed her from the side. “I... I never heard about that. I knew she was there, but... That means you're both okay with this then?”

Mom chuckled, straightening Korra's hair. “She's utterly devoted to you, Korra. And she makes you happy. What more could any parents want?”

“Plus, she's rich,” her father added.

“Tonraq!”

“It's not like Korra gets paid!” he laughed. “And she's already made me some money, too.”

“Made you... Dad, you weren't part of that ridiculous pool?”

“Korra,” he said, reaching across the table to brush hair from her eye. “Who do you think started it?”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Jinora bowed at the leader of the Northern garrison outside her borrowed quarters. “Thank you again for your hospitality. The Southerners may be a different nation now, with a different way of life, but they are still a reasonable people. I'm sure we can come to some sort of accommodation, and it benefits nobody if things here escalate further than they have.”

“Well said, Master Jinora,” Tan replied. He was ancient—he claimed to have fought the Fire Nation invasion. Jinora was skeptical, but she knew better than to express that. Particularly when he was treating her with such respect. Most people couldn't get past her age. “I hope you are correct. The old ways are lost on many, but I am glad to see there are still some who honor tradition. Especially among your generation.”

And there it was. “We've been trying to resurrect traditions that have been gone for nearly two centuries. I understand their value as well as anyone. That includes the airbender tradition of evening meditation, which I would be remiss to put off any longer.”

“Ah, of course,” Tan said, dipping his head in apology. “We can discuss matters more tomorrow. Good night, Master Jinora.”

“Good night,” she said, stepping into the simple room. She shut the door, sat on the bed, folded her legs beneath her, and began to meditate.

Then she spirit projected to Air Temple Island because she really wanted to see her boyfriend.

She materialized in midair.

“Woah!” Kai shouted, gliding right through her.

She rolled her eyes in frustration. He was training some of the newer airbenders to use the suits. Few had taken to the glider suits as well as Kai, though Bumi insisted it was because he still didn't weigh anything.

Jinora blinked herself beside him, matching his speed. “How much longer is your lesson?”

“Just a few minutes,” he said with a wink.

Did blushing show over spirit projection? Honestly, she hoped it did. “I'll go check in on Bumi then, meet up with you in a bit.” She blinked away, into the central meditation room.

Bumi wasn't there.

Perhaps the pavilion?

No.

The training ground?

Plenty of acolytes. No Bumi.

Jinora realized she was looking in places she would have been likely to be. That would never work.

She blinked to the kitchen.

“Hello, Bumi,” she said.

“Aah!” he shouted, throwing a pear through her face.

“Good shot,” she complimented.

“Even without my bending, I'm famous for my reflexes.” He grinned. “What's up?”

“That's what I was going to ask you. Without an airbending master present on the island, logically authority would fall to the most senior airbender present.”

Bumi crossed his arms, and frowned. “Most senior.”

“That came out wrong.”

“Uh-huh. You _could_ have just mentioned my military experience. There is precedent you know.”

“Right,” she said, tilting up onto her toes. “Sorry. Anyway, since you're holding down the fort, I just wanted to know how things are going?”

“How things are going? You left like, two days ago. Barely. How much could possibly have happened?”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Point taken. But no, all quiet on this front. You? Seen any action?”

“Things are tense between the two Water Tribe camps, but they're staying out of each others' way until the world leaders can come to an agreement.”

“Well, that's unexpectedly rational. Any idea when Korra might get here? The trip back seems to be taking longer.”

“That can happen. I did check on her though, she and her parents stopped off with Iroh.”

“Oh. Well good, that's always fun. I miss that old coot. Maybe I should hop into the Spirit World myself for another visit, while I'm still younger than he is.”

“Do you think you could wait until things settle down? Or at least until Dad or I get back? How is his mission going, anyway?”

Bumi shrugged. “Haven't heard from him in a while, but you know Tenzin. I'm sure he's fine.”

Most likely, he was. Still, it would probably be a good idea to spirit project to the Fire Nation, and see—

A blast of something passed through her heart, then twisted around and within her projection. Flower petals. She turned, giggling. “Kai!”

She saw his grin, and lost her train of thought.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Though damage to the city had been extensive, there were also entire blocks that had seen no damage at all. Happily, her and Opal's favorite lunch spot was among them. The airbender was waiting outside as Asami parked. “Sorry I'm late,” she said, giving Opal a quick one-armed hug. “You have _no_ idea how much is on my plate today.”

“Well, you could always _tell_ me about it,” Opal said, holding the door open for the taller woman. “Wasn't that sort of the point of these lunches?”

Asami shrugged as they took their normal booth. After Tenzin had turned the Air Nomads into a peacekeeping force and Opal had moved to Republic City to take part, she hadn't known anybody else local of the girl persuasion. She'd heard from Bolin that Asami was stressed out, suggested taking her to lunch, and the two had fallen into the habit of it. “I rather thought the point was so we could commiserate over our strained, long-distance relationships.”

Opal chuckled. “That _is_ what they turned into, wasn't it?” Their server came for their order, and as he left, Bolin slid into the booth beside her. She frowned. “Hey, Bo... what are you doing here?”

“Asami, you have a little smear on your chin.” Bolin glanced furtively from side to side, pulling an envelope out of his coat, hiding it under a napkin, and sliding it across the table to her. “Here, use my napkin to wipe it off.”

Asami rolled her eyes, pocketing the envelope. “Hi, Bolin.”

His eyes were wide, and his brow starting to sweat. He kept glancing at the napkin.

She sighed, picked it up, and dabbed her chin. Bolin exhaled.

Opal's gaze shifted between both of them. “Am I not supposed to comment on how weird that was, or—”

“Weird? No, no, hah, nothing's weird!” Bolin said. “Except... except we were supposed to have Korra here too! Remember, the double date?”

Asami sighed, resting one arm on the table and leaning into her hand. “I wish she _was_ here. I thought, we spent three years apart and our feelings only grew. Now that's we're _actually_ dating, how bad could a few days be?” She put her other elbow on the table, supporting her chin with both hands now, and sighed again.

“So...” Opal asked, smirking at her, “you two are officially-official now, then? Because the papers today...”

Spirits, what now? “Tell me.”

Bolin had arrived back at himself. “Yeah, me too.”

Opal had an evil look on her face as she produced the newspaper clipping. It wasn't a headline, something clearly from the society column. “City's Saviors Also its Most Eligible Women?”

Bolin frowned, turning his head to read aloud. “Avatar Korra and gal-pal Asami Sato—”

Opal snickered. He continued: “...have been making waves by their close cooperation in rebuilding Republic City after the recent attack. After disappearing for a mysterious mission, both are now hard at work rebuilding the city. With social calenders already filling up, invitations are sure to stream out to the heiress and the Avatar.”

“Ugh,” Asami sneered. “I _hate_ when the papers call me that. What will it take to not just be 'the heiress' to these people?”

Opal had her hands clasped over her mouth. “Keep going,” she squeaked.

Bolin cleared his throat. “The conundrum that many of the city's well-to-do bachelors may now face is, considering their close friendship, which of these lovely-yet-single ladies should he pursue?”

Asami snorted, burying her head in her arms. “Oh _spirits_!” She laughed into the table.

“Asami,” Opal demanded. “You need to promise me. First chance you get you and Korra go to a fancy dress ball. I _need_ to be there. I _need_ this story for my grandchildren.”

“Grand-whatnow?” Bolin asked.

 

 

 

***

 

 

The road—if it could be called that—into Guanlin kicked up so much dust that they were nearly in the town before realizing it. Mako watched Tsu Ying as they approached. Perhaps he should have been observing their surroundings instead, but the way she held her hands in her lap seemed far more important.

“Where should we stop?” Wing asked, slowing the jeep as they passed a ruined building. Faded scorch marks covered one wall. “Tsu Ying?”

She jerked, startled. “We... they would have rebuilt the grange first. The outlying farms weren't hurt too badly, the farmers that stayed still needed somewhere to store and sell.”

“Makes sense. What's a 'grange' look like?”

“Just... keep going. I'll tell you when to stop.”

“Yes ma'am!” Wing said, saluting smoothly.

Tsu Ying looked away. They passed another building, far better looking than the last. It couldn't have been more than a year old.

Mako scooted toward her. “We could just keep driving,” he said. “We don't have to do this.”

She continued to watch the countryside roll by. “Right. And how foolish would I feel later? Let's get it over with.”

He sat back in his seat, watching her. Worried.

Perhaps he didn't know her well. But he remembered when Korra was hurt. He tried to talk to her, tried to spend time with her, but she barely spoke. She was always so tired, so distant, and... and he'd let her be. She'd tried her hardest to shrink away and not be seen, and he'd obliged her.

He'd failed. What kind of friend was he? Bolin had kept up a front of enthusiasm, though Mako had seen how much it had drained him. Asami all but gave up her life for those few weeks, just to be there for any moment Korra might be there.

He knew what happened to Korra wasn't his fault, that her leaving wasn't his fault. That her staying gone so long wasn't his fault.

But he blamed himself for not trying harder.

“My parents were killed when I was eight,” he said, staring into the seat in front of him. “I saw it. Firebending gang attacked us. I didn't do anything to save them. I took Bolin and ran. He didn't see. I saw everything. I saw... He was too young to fend for himself— _I was_ too young, but somebody had to. I wanted to cry for my parents, I wanted somebody to make it better, but who was there? Bolin needed me to be strong. So I shoved it down. I'd see crime on the streets, and think of how my parents died, and I'd shove it down and down until I could stomach stealing food to eat. I saw firebenders and I'd flash back, and I'd want to go bury myself somewhere, but I shoved that down too. Shoved down how much I hated it, hated my own bending, so I could use it to keep us safe. I thought it made me strong. I mean, it worked, we survived, barely, but... sometimes I worry, when I shoved down so much, how much of myself did I shove down there, too?”

Slowly, Tsu Ying turned, her eyes creeping up to his face. He hadn't noticed how green they were before. He took a breath.

She looked away. “That tall building up ahead. Pull over there.”

“Sure thing,” Wing said.

Mako looked around, wondering why he was so tense. Just the long car ride, not enough movement. Hard not to get stiff. As he glanced about, he noticed another set of eyes—Wu, through the mirror, watching him quietly from the front seat. He looked away.

The mirror wasn't doing Wing any good at that angle. Had Wu adjusted it to watch them?

The jeep pulled to a stop. They piled out the stretch, nobody speaking as the second jeep pulled up.

“Hey,” Wei said, punching Shu in the shoulder to wake him up. “We're here.”

Shu cracked open an eye, then popped his neck and rose. How could anyone possibly have slept on that road?

A crowd began to gather around the newcomers. They all shared Tsu Ying's darker coloration, and most wore worn, if sturdy, clothes in traditional Earth Kingdom greens and browns.

“I recognize those markings,” a middle-aged man said, pointing at an insignia on back of the jeep. “You're from Zaofu?”

“That's right,” Wing said, crossing his arms and looking smug.

“Do you recognize me?” Tsu Ying asked, stepping forward, her helmet under her arm. “I haven't been gone _that_ long, Ryo.”

Ryo smiled. “Why, you're Brenna's girl! Tsu Ying! Spirits, girl, where have you been? What's all that getup?”

“It's a uniform. Been out fighting warlords, working for the Avatar. Nothing special.”

Mako quirked an eyebrow at her. She glanced him quiet. To be fair, working for the White Lotus sort of _was_ working for Korra. Technically.

“We're following another jeep like this one. We know they're heading to Ba Sing Se, we're hoping to catch up with them before they get there. Is the loggers' path still passable, or has it been overgrown again?”

Ryo whistled. “Nobody's been using that land since Chien's family was...”

Tsu Ying nodded quickly, wanting to hear the next word even less than Ryo wanted to say it. “Who's the mayor now? Could we speak with them?”

The villager's stance became suddenly guarded. “We... don't have a mayor anymore, Tsu Ying. We do everything by committee.”

“That's... new,” Tsu Ying replied. “Who came up with that?”

“Some travelers from Lao. Why?”

She and Mako glanced at each other, wide-eyed. “Did they say anything about the Red Lotus?”

“What, you mean like this?” Ryo said, pulling a Pai Sho tile from his pocket. “Symbol of freedom, right?”

“Uh huh,” Tsu Ying said, backing away. “You... where did you get that?”

“Council. Everybody in town got one, it's how... are you alright?”

“I just... I need to go... check...”

She dropped her helmet, and ran.

Mako had a thousand questions, things he needed to know. For the mission. For the world, maybe.

He ran after her.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

This was the worst plan Lin had ever taken part in.

Yes, it was a calculated risk. Yes, the potential reward was great. And yes, she even agreed it was the best option available.

She also knew that there were about a million ways this could go very, very badly. Badly enough to see blood on the streets. Badly enough she might need to resign tomorrow.

And here, she'd thought Korra would always be the troublemaker, and Asami would calm her down. What she wouldn't give now to have the Avatar in town to keep her girlfriend in check?

Of course, if things went _really_ badly, the Avatar might get back into town to find her girlfriend dead.

Lin steeled herself. That would not happen.

She stepped out into the loading dock beneath the precinct. “The prisoner transports are loaded?” she asked.

The guard gave her an exasperated look. She had, after all, just asked over the phone fifteen minutes prior. And ten. And five. The answer had not changed. “Yeah, Chief. They're all loaded. Still.”

“And the route—”

“The route to the military prison is clear, yes.”

Lin nodded. “Good. Let's get to it.”

The trucks started, enough to haul all the gang toughs Korra had helped her round up. Most were still awaiting trial, but if there really was a plan to bust them out, moving them somewhere more secure would help keep them off the streets. And as they had been apprehended when the city was still in a state of emergency, moving them into military custody was even justified.

For the first time in years, she put on a patroller's helmet, then followed the trucks out into the afternoon sun, looking at the civilians walking up and down the streets in spite of her metalbenders shooing them away. She sent her own cable upwards, hauling herself skyward so she could keep pace with the convoy.

She really hated this plan. Two weeks ago, when the city was still empty, maybe. Now?

Whatever. The trucks were on the move.

Lin and her metalbenders kept pace with the convoy. Nearly every car she had was blocking an intersection, keeping the path clear for several blocks around, well larger than S.O.P. required when transporting dangerous benders. Her own forces were supplemented by military police, still mobilized from the battle. Airships watched the route overhead. Maybe all of that would make some people curious, but she didn't give a damn.

The route out of the city center was civilian free. Leaving the populated area made her even more tense. They turned into a disused industrial block, condemned but unreclaimed since the attack. With effort, she forced her jaw to unclench. This was the area her lieutenants had cautioned her about. She'd overridden them, told them to warn the drivers if they were so worried. Hopefully they had. Narrow spaces between buildings, long swathes of wreckage they couldn't secure. If anything were to happen on the way, it would happen here. Lin had assured everybody that they were ready, everything was well in hand. Nobody was going to attack the convoy—the remaining gangs didn't have the strength, even if banded together. She'd told them person. She'd told them over the telephone. In General Iroh's office. In President Raiko's. She'd even broken her own personal oath, and answered an inquisitive reporter: this transfer was routine, and the chances of anyone interfering were nil.

She would have had to send invitations to lay the groundwork more cleanly. Dear criminals: party to be held on road in industrial district. Accessorize accordingly. Please RSVP. Bring your own fireworks.

Shouts cried from the front of the convoy while she was swinging between two buildings. She yanked herself quickly to the side, watching as a flaming construction truck careened from a side street, smashing into a building, cutting off the first truck.

Lin _tsk_ ed. Not quite what Asami had anticipated, when she'd suggested the route. The engineer had expected them to knock a building down. Criminal thought came far more easily to the woman than either of them would care to admit.

She winced as the first gunshots erupted.

This was a terrible plan.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Zhang ducked low as the hired nonbenders poured rifle fire at the trucks. They'd only been practicing with the damned things for a few days, and this whole operation was thrown together at the last minute. Somebody had squealed—not one of his Agni Kais, but when they and the other gangs had agreed to band together to bust their people out, it was inevitable one of the others would try to pull a double-cross. He'd thought it suspicious when the Red Monsoons leader insisted he stay back with the guns...

He took cover behind a fallen I-beam. They'd have to sort that out later. Right now, they were trusting their lives to barely-trained nonbenders with weapons he'd never seen before. But it didn't take a great mind to see their potential—the way forward was kept clear, and his gunmen were well out of metalbender range. The cops were totally flat-footed—the drivers were even running.

Zhang motioned his men forward. Two each from all three major triads, that was the deal. They just needed to bust one transport to get their numbers up. If they could do it fast enough, they could really damage the police force as well. Maybe the gangs should team up more often?

A Red Monsoon and Li, Zhang's boss, took point, Viper and the other Monsoon close behind. The Triple Threats' leader had suggested this mess, risking all their cards to get back in the game. He had to admit, the waterbender had guts. Maybe not the brains he thought he had, but on the streets, guts went pretty far, especially when you had bending to back it up.

A bullet ricocheted off a wall above his head. All six of them jerked down.

These things could be a problem.

Later.

Viper charged ahead, bending a torrent of water from the gutter at the hinges of the rear transport. He clenched his fist, freezing it, and metal _POP_ ed as loud as those gunshots. Zhang scanned the road behind them, ready to fight off any cops while his allies freed the—

The door erupted outwards, knocking Li and a Monsoon flat. “Surprise Bolin!” came a shout from within, along with a volley of gravel.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Asami slid across an angled roof, leaping between buildings—the ambush had happened a hundred yards sooner than she'd expected, and the rooftop she'd started on gave a poor angle. Zhu Li should be fine on her side of the street, covering the advance of all the cops now pouring out of the transport trucks, huddled behind metalbent barriers as they pushed toward the factory where the triads' gunmen were firing from.

She found a scupper she could set up behind, catching her breath as she set up her weapon again. Bolin and the cops Lin had with him were holding their own against the triad fighters, but they didn't want to just fend them off. This was their chance to knock all three gangs out for the count. Her heart racing, she braced her rifle against the top of the wall. Sighting down.

Viper was there, getting to his feet. The head of the Triple Threats had personally betrayed her once, helping Varrick steal all her mechatanks, forcing her to sell a controlling share of her company. She exhaled, squeezed the trigger, and put a bullet through his leg.

There was some satisfaction in that. She heard him shout a moment later, stifling queasiness at the blood on the pavement. But waterbending medics were on site, he'd live. She scanned the fight.

A firebender caught her interest, backpedalling away from a spiralling lava disk. Firebenders tended to be very mobile, she'd have to be careful to get a clean-disabling shot—

Asami saw his face.

She'd seen that face before. That same nose, that scar on his chin.

Sixteen years ago.

She'd been at the top of the stairs, hiding above him. Watching as he attacked her mother. He hadn't even known she was there as he'd taken her. Hadn't even known he'd taken her father as well, time delayed until the Equalists arose. He hadn't known.

He didn't know she was there now, either.

She saw his eyes through her scope. The last eyes to see her mother alive.

In the space of a heartbeat, she decided.

She squeezed the trigger.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for betaing wordcatchers! 
> 
> We got an entire season of the show demonstrating how traumatic the battle with Zaheer was for Korra. But, while she wasn't the one being brutalized, that was a pretty horrible day for Asami too. She had no physical injuries to recover from, but her heart? All those years, not knowing if Korra was okay? Knowing Korra WASN'T okay? Yeah, she'd have issues with that too. 
> 
> Lin's back in the story! Does anybody else get the feeling that Lin is Getting Too Old For This Shit? 
> 
> About the only thing all the long Spirit World vacation fics I've seen have in common is that the girls visit Iroh. I decided that warranted subversion, and besides, like he said, he usually shows up to help people with problems. Korra and Asami were quite happy being each others' solutions, thank you! 
> 
> The conversation about how Tonraq and Senna found out... I've been looking forward to that for a long time. Kids always seem to assume their parents are passively unaware of their inner lives, but good parents have SOME inkling what's going on! 
> 
> Jinora's actually getting some work done off in the Spirit World. She deserves some spirit-skype with her beau. I'm sure there's nothing else she needs to worry about or check on. 
> 
> So, Korra and Opal spent all of like, a week in each others' company in book 3? Then Korra was away for years. Opal and Bolin, we're not sure how much time they got to spend together before he joined Kuvira, but I'm sure she heard a lot about Korra from him and Tenzin... but fact remains, she can't really be called Korra's FRIEND in book 4. She's a woman she'd met for a little while three years earlier. Asami, though? Maybe she wasn't in the market for 'a girlfriend to hang out with and talk to,' in a wink wink nudge nudge sense, but the platonic sort of 'let's go shopping and get brunch!' sort of friend? That's something she desperately needed in her Korraless life. Plus, Opal is pretty old hat at talking to engineers, so they'd get along swimmingly. 
> 
> Also, yes, there can definitely be rumors of a same-sex relationship between two women and the media still calls them 'gal pals.' This is irritating, but the level of willful ignorance is also kinda hilarious sometimes? Opal is so happy to see Asami finally with the woman she's been pining over for years, and she's pretty protective of her friend I think, so she sorta keeps track of what people are saying. Or, being the daughter of a world leader, perhaps she regularly reads the society pages! 
> 
> Is that a little Wuko peeking back at Mako's introspective conversation with Tsu Ying? Perhaps! Anyway, you ever go back to your home town only to discover it's been taken over by anarchists? We've all been there. And hey, Mako has learned a bit how to balance his work responsibilities with being sensitive to the people in his life. Better catch up with her! 
> 
> Oh, and then Asami's sting operation. 
> 
> Oh, Asami. What you do?


	12. Come Together

 

_Korra stirred with a groan, wiping the sleep-drool from her mouth. Something smelled good. Really good. Great even. She rolled over, and there was Asami, cooking eggs on a tiny camping skillet._

_The Avatar smirked. “Where did you get those?”_

“ _Egg bush,” Asami said, nodding over her shoulder._

“ _Egg bush.”_

“ _Egg bush.” Asami shrugged. “Seriously, there's a bush over there, with eggs growing on it like fruit. I saw a little squirrel thing hop up, place several in a basket, and leave._

“ _Egg bush,” Korra repeated, chuckling as she sat up. “Well, I have to admit, dried fruit and jerky was getting old.”_

“ _There aren't exactly restaurants on every street corner, here. Though I suppose technically there are, as there aren't any street corners. Unless you've been holding out on me.”_

_She raised her hands. “Not at all! Why would I hold out on you?”_

_Asami quirked an eyebrow._

“ _...anymore?” Korra added._

_She seemed satisfied with that, scooping the eggs onto a tin plate, setting chopsticks on the side and passing it over the tiny fire. “Well, enjoy.”_

_The eggs were gone in an instant, barely denting her hunger. Asami smiled, cracking another egg. “How many of those did you... pick?”_

“ _Well... I estimated how many I might eat. Then quadrupled it.”_

“ _Hey!”_

“ _All that muscle needs a lot of energy. Besides, I like to see you eating like you used to. It's almost supernatural. Are you eating for Raava, too?”_

_Korra stuck out her tongue. “I know what this really is. You know the best way to woo a Water Tribe girl is to keep her well-fed.”_

“ _Is that so?” Asami flipped her hair over her shoulder, revealing the long, elegant curves of her neck. “I'll keep that in mind.”_

_Breathing. She needed to do that, right. “Can I just, make a little objection here? We've been walking around for more than a week and you're still ridiculously beautiful. There's no way that's fair.”_

_Asami blushed. “I... may have touched up my makeup a few times.”_

“ _You really don't need to. You looked great after we swam.”_

“ _It ran all over everywhere!”_

“ _And yet you still looked great!”_

“ _Flatterer.”_

_Korra crossed her arms. “You don't believe me.”_

“ _I... believe you mean it. But aesthetically speaking, giant asymmetrical dark splotches aren't a good look.” She handed Korra another scoopful of egg—if she had to cook them one at a time this was going to take forever._

_Korra took her plate, rising as she gulped it down. “Just a second. Had an idea.”_

_Asami watched her go—rather intently. Korra smiled, pretending not to notice the attention, and returned with a big bubble of water from the stream they'd camped beside. She stomped, earthbending the pile of eggs into the air and startling the life out of one Asami Sato. Biting her lip kept her from laughing as she caught the eggs in her water glob._

“ _Korra!” Asami snapped, hand pressed to her chest. “Warn me next time.”_

“ _I was chewing my food,” Korra said, innocently. “One must present good manners if she wishes to spend time with a high society woman.”_

_Asami leaned back on her arms. “Is_ that _what that was?” Her curiosity toward what Korra was doing quickly drained the annoyance from her voice—she'd have to remember that. She saw where Korra was maneuvering the swirling mass, and laughed. “I never would have thought to boil them without a pot.”_

“ _Who needs fancy kitchen appliances when you have the Avatar around?” Korra waggled her eyebrows._

_Asami rolled over, crawling toward her. “You're a bit of a dork. You know that, right?”_

_Watching Asami approach was doing bad, wonderful things to her concentration. “I'll have you know, I am the epitome of suaveness.”_

“ _Suaveness?” She traced a hand across the back of Korra's neck._

_She shuddered. “I got you over here, didn't I?”_

_Korra wrapped her hands around Asami's face, tackling her into a rolling kiss. Neither of them cared about the broken eggs sloshing around the doused fire._

_Asami wound up on top of her, lengthening the kiss before setting her hands on either side of Korra's head. She leaned back, looking at her, smiling, simply admiring._

“ _You really would have come to the South Pole with me,” Korra said. It wasn't a question. “In a way, you kind of did. The way you spent those weeks with me, helping me dress and eat and... and everything. Kept talking to me, about your day, about what was going on in the city. Then your letters, all those letters. Every single one of them made me feel better—and worse.”_

“ _Worse?” Asami frowned._

_Korra rolled against Asami's arm, knocking her onto her side so they could cuddle up. “You always said you missed me. You never wrote about adventures or saving the world, you never wrote about Avatar stuff. You wrote like we were talking. And it made me miss you too. Asami...” She turned to face her, tracing her fingers behind Asami's ear, straightening her hair. “You make me feel... I can't think of another way to say it, but you make me feel human. I've always been the Avatar, always been this important... political, powerful_ thing. _With you, it's like I'm just... just a person.”_

_Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's. “You're my favorite person. I'm thinking I've finally made that clear?”_

“ _Yeah,” Korra laughed._

“ _Because I tried subtlety for years and apparently you were impervious to it.”_

“ _Oh, you hit the mark,” Korra said. “I just... didn't realize it for a while. Here, get up.”_

_Asami untangled herself from Korra, watching as she rummaged through her pack._

“ _I may not have packed an entire workshop,” Korra said as she dug. “Or enough food...”_

“ _Or a sleeping bag,” Asami said. “Though that worked out.”_

_Korra smirked, her fingers closing around what she wanted. “But I did bring my good luck charm.”_

_She tossed it at Asami, who caught it midair. “A ring of keys.” She raised her eyebrow. “Okay?”_

_Korra came back, laying down with her head in Asami's lap. “I walked the world for months, running away from... myself. Looking for Raava. Hoping she could put me back together, so I could be whole again. At one point, I was stumbling through the Si Wong desert, and I saw her. Brilliant white against the sky, just over a dune. I rushed up, sand giving way beneath my feet... and she was gone. Maybe a mirage, maybe a vision, maybe I was out of my head, I don't know. But she wasn't there.”_

_Asami stroked her hair. She closed her eyes, feeling the tenderness. Remembering._

“ _I felt beaten. Again. I was on my knees, sobbing, looking for any reason to go on, for something. Anything. Then... I saw something glinting in the sand, lower on the dune. I checked it out, and it was a piece off metal. With a Cabbage Corp logo.”_

_She felt Asami stir. The keys jangled above her._

“ _I looked around the airship wreckage, not sure what I was looking for until I found it. Those keys. The ones you used to save me. Once I found them, I felt... stronger. Like there was something waiting for me, a reason I had to get better, not just for the world. I'm not sure if it was coincidence, or if Raava guided me there, or what, but even though you weren't there, you saved me again.”_

_Something wet dropped against her forehead. “Korra, if you say something sappy about these being the 'keys to your heart,' I swear...”_

_Korra sat up, turning to hold Asami's hands, looping her thumb through the key ring. “C'mon. You love it.”_

_Asami shook her head, lips trembling, pulling the keys—and Korra's hands—to her breast. “Dork.”_

_She leaned forward, pressing her own lips to Asami's trembling smile. “Not that you'd need keys. You could always hot-wire me.”_

_Asami chuckled, kissing back._

“ _Because you're hot...”_

“ _Korra...”_

“ _And you know how to push my buttons...”_

_Asami surged forward, forcing Korra onto her back, hands clawing the ground on either side of her head. “Stop talking.”_

“ _Make me,” Korra challenged._

_Asami accepted._

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

“Thank you again for giving us somewhere to bed down,” Korra's dad said, walking beside Iroh. “And for guiding us to the portal. I don't suppose you'd be interested in using your expertise to help us establish a trade route through the Spirit World?”

“What, from the polar portals to here?” he gestured at the purple field around the Republic City portal. “I don't think that's a good idea. The Spirit World still surprises even me. I am glad more people can come here, but their interests should be toward personal growth and enlightenment. Besides, what's wrong with carts and boats?”

“Carts?” Dad asked.

“C'mon,” Korra said, pulling him by the arm. She waved back at Iroh. “Good to see you again!”

“You know,” Dad said as she dragged him back to Mom and Naga, “you are awfully nonchalant about meeting a dead historical figure.”

“We've talked a bunch of times,” she said, waving her free hand. Honestly, Iroh was great company, but it felt like she'd been gone for a month.

“Impatient, are we?” Mom asked, her eyes twinkling as Korra passed.

Dad chuckled. “Remember when we were first dating?”

“How I had to sneak out of my parents hut in the middle of the night and meet you beneath that glacier?”

“Or the hot spring?”

Korra did not need to hear where the rest of this conversation was going. “Everybody through the portal okay we're all moving now!”

They exited into a dusky city, the lights illuminating not-quite-bustling-yet streets. Rebuilding had come a long way in the last few weeks. As for right now, there wasn't too far left to travel. She could see their apartment from here—and the light was on. “Everybody on Naga! Let's go!”

Her parents had the good sense to comply and not make fun of her. Naga made great time to their building, sliding to a stop in front of the valet. She hopped off, placing Naga's reins in the stunned man's hands, and rushed inside.

If her parents weren't following behind, she'd have airbent herself up the atrium. Instead, she waited for the elevator, certain that it was the slowest means of transportation ever devised.

“So, you're not living on Air Temple Island then?” Mom asked. “You share an apartment?”

Korra laughed nervously. She was trapped in the elevator with this conversation.

“She's a grown woman, Senna,” Dad said. “Besides, it's not like either of them can get pregnant. Probably.”

Both women rounded on him. “Probably?” they asked in unison.

He chuckled, shrugging. “You're the Avatar, honey. You're friends with dead people. You grew thirty stories tall to fight a spirit monster. Regular rules don't exactly apply to you.”

“Yes but... _do we have to talk about this?_ ”

He tapped his chin. “Maybe, if you were in the Spirit World during a solstice...”

“DAD!”

The elevator doors opened. Korra made a tactical retreat, fumbling her apartment key out as her parents followed, hand in hand. So long as they left _that topic_ behind, this was going to go great. They were going to love Asami, and she got along great with everyone, and—

She swung the door open. “Asami, I'm back! We're...”

Asami was already halfway across the living room, grabbing Korra and pulling her into a desperate hug.

Something was wrong. “'Sami?”

“Just hold me,” she whispered.

Korra swallowed, glancing back at the door. Her parents stood at the threshold, eagerness turning to confusion. “Guys, maybe tomorrow would be a better time? I think Asami had a pretty rough day.”

“Of course,” Mom said, cutting Dad off with a touch to his arm. “We'll find our way to Air Temple Island. Should we take Naga?”

“That'd be great,” Korra said, eyes locking on Asami's, smoothing hair out of her face.

“Aww...” Mom cooed from the door. Korra glared at her. “Sorry. We're going.”

They closed the door behind them. Korra opened her arms a little, wrapping one around Asami's shoulder and guiding her to the couch. “What's going on, Asami?”

Asami took a deep breath, clutching Korra's hands. “We had... Lin and I planned a sting operation. What was left of the triads were banding together to bust all their people out, after you and Lin swept them all up. That would hardly have been something you wanted to come back to. I helped, and while I was there, I happened to see...”

Korra put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. It's okay. You know you can talk to me.”

Her girlfriend nodded. “I happened to see the man who killed my mom. I recognized him. And I may have killed him. I _meant_ to kill him.”

Breath hissed through Korra's teeth. “Asami...”

“I've tried to be good, my whole life. Tried to do the right thing, even when it hurt me, even when...” She shook her head, a thousand miles away. “How can I pretend to be a good person, when I take revenge the first chance I got?”

“You're _still_ a good person, Asami. It's not like it's a this-or that kind of thing, and you've done so much good. For the city, for the world. For me. Besides, you were fighting a bender—you can't afford to be cautious.”

“It... wasn't that kind of fight, Korra. He couldn't defend himself, and I made a choice. Last I heard, he's in a hospital, under guard. Nobody's sure if he'll live or... but I know what I tried to do. I know what I intended.”

“Asami _,_ ” Korra said firmly, lifting Asami's chin. “Asami, look at me.”

Green eyes met blue.

“What do you think I was trying to do when I fought Zaheer?”

“That was different.”

“Was it?”

“You were poisoned. You were in the Avatar state. You couldn't control yourself.”

“What about how Mako killed Ming-Hua? Or how Su killed P'li?”

“They were defending themselves, or people they loved. They were in the heat of combat.”

“So were you.”

“I told you, I wasn't in danger!”

“But you were still defending yourself!” Korra nearly shouted, fingers clenched on Asami's shoulders. “Asami, when I was poisoned, chained up in that cave... I saw things. I saw Amon, and Unalaq and Vaatu. Even after beating them, they still terrified me. Seeing Zaheer again brought me back to that day—all I wanted to do was run. If he hadn't decided to help, that Kuvira was our mutual enemy... I don't know what would have happened.”

Asami reached up, taking hold of Korra's wrists. “What if I'm like them?”

Korra blinked. “What?”

“Amon, Unalaq, Zaheer, even Kuvira... all of them wanted something important. They all wanted to restore balance in some way, to set things right, but they became so sure theirs was the only way to do it, they went too far. They hurt the world, they hurt people they loved. I tried to kill a man today, Korra. I had the power and I... I decided to use it. What gave me the right?”

Korra lowered her arms, twining her fingers between Asami's. “I kinda wish my dad was still here. I was... I dunno, maybe nine, when I realized I might have to really hurt somebody. Not just beat them in a fight, but I might have to kill someone. I was so scared I couldn't do that, so scared that I _could_ do it. Mom told me about how Aang ended the Hundred Year War, how everybody told him he had to kill Fire Lord Ozai, but if he did, it would be like he killed the last bit of his culture, like he'd have doomed his own spirit. He found another way. Dad overheard all that, and he said, 'No.'”

Asami frowned. “No?”

She nodded, remembering him. He'd been so big, back then. “He said what Aang did was a heroic and an admirable thing. But he kneeled down in front of me, put his hands on my arms, and he made me promise—if somebody was trying to hurt me, if somebody was ever trying to hurt me or someone I loved, not to hold back. Once I knew what had to be done, just— _go_ and _deal_ with it.”

“I can see how you wound up so... decisive.” She smiled, a little.

Korra smiled too. “I'm not going to say you won't feel bad about what you did today. I'm not even going to say you shouldn't—only you can know where your own lines are, and when you crossed them. But it doesn't mean you can't come back. Your father did, right?”

She swallowed, but nodded.

Korra wormed one of her hands free, wiping a spot of moisture from the corner of Asami's eye. “You're Asami Sato. You're amazing. I trust you with my life, or anyone else's. Maybe you made a mistake today, but you'll learn from it. You'll pick it apart into a million pieces, figure out what parts were the problem, and then you'll be even better.”

Asami guided Korra's hand to her cheek, nuzzling against it. “I'm glad you're back.”

Korra kissed Asami's knuckles. “Me too.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Kya hustled into the hospital, composing herself. Lin was fine. They were old friends, this was a consultation or something, maybe Lin needed somebody healed. If Lin herself was hurt, she wouldn't have called Kya. She wouldn't have called anyone, if she could avoid it. And if she was hurt _badly_ , then...

The waterbender got serious about actually composing herself now. Korra and Asami's relationship had gotten her thinking about her own old crushes, and just as she'd been concocting a justification to look her up, Lin called of her own accord. For business, true, but it would have to be, with her.

She knew the hospital's layout well, volunteering to help often when she was in the city, particularly in the wake of its annoyingly-frequent massive emergencies. There weren't usually so many cops guarding doors, but again, when Lin was involved, certain things were to be expected.

Here was the room. Her hand paused a breath from the handle.

She had to assume this was nothing. Business. A favor for an old friend. Lin trusted her, respected her abilities. Work with that.

Kya let herself into the room.

Lin had her arms crossed, back against the wall. Her scarred cheek was toward Kya, striking in this light. Striking in any light, really. “You made good time,” Lin said.

This was a Lin version of a compliment. “I aim to please. What's up?”

She bobbed her silvered head toward the bed in the room, and Kya realized it was occupied. Of course it was. She probably should have looked at something other than Lin before speaking.

Kya stepped forward, bending water from the basin beside the bed. The man in it was about their age, unconscious and clearly drugged. His chest was bare, covered in heavy bandages. One arm and one leg were each handcuffed to the bed rail. “Did none of the other waterbenders see him?”

“They did,” Lin said. “But there's something lodged in his spine. They didn't want to heal him up with that still in there.”

Kya frowned, nodding. “Do we know what it is?”

“Metal slug. Big as your finger tip. 'Called a bullet.'”

“How'd it happen?”

“...” It wasn't that Lin didn't speak, it's that she _said_ nothing. A deliberate, weighty silence, that she thought came off as stoic and meaningful.

Honestly, Kya found it irritating. “Lin, I need to know what I'm up against. Was it metalbent in there?”

“Asami Sato shot this man with one of her new-fangled weapons,” Lin finally spat, pushing from the wall and beginning to pace. Pacing was good—well honestly it was usually pretty bad but it was one of the major stages of Lin's anger, and had to be suffered through. “She assured me that she could focus on wounding shots, she convinced me to deputize her, and then she gives me _this_? I knew these things were trouble.”

“Asami did this?” Kya frowned, probing the wound with a thin tendril of water. “What were you doing, putting the Avatar's girlfriend in a fight?”

“It was Sato's idea!” Arm gestures now, Lin was prone to those when she was at her anger apex. “She _says_ this was an accident, but I don't think anything that woman does is accidental. The other triad goons she shot were all in the legs. Every. Single. One.”

“What made this one different?”

“Dunno,” Lin said, crossing her arms and facing out the window. “I have my suspicions. But even if they're right, what do I do about them? I deputized her like an idiot, and he was shot in the commission of a crime. If I try to make an issue out of it, the case would be very hard to prove and I'd be butting up against two of the biggest names in the city over the life of some ruffian.”

Kya's brow furrowed as she examined the wound. The bullet had torn through a lung, cracking a rib and shattering against the man's spine. Somebody had fixed the lung and the rib before she'd gotten there, but all those shards were lodged so deeply, pulling them out could cause them to collapse, sever his spinal cord... she could see why nobody had wanted to touch it. “I'm not sure what I can do, and I certainly don't want to try without his permission. I'm not _that_ much better than the professional healers here.”

Lin sighed. “I know. I just wanted to hear it from somebody who isn't scared of me. And I wanted you to see what a gunshot wound is like. Something tells me you'll be seeing more of them.”

Kya bent the water away, doing what she could to soothe the man. “That's all, then? You just wanted my professional opinion? Because maybe I can't do much more for this guy, but there's other things I can do to help.”

Lin turned her head, brows furrowed. “Like what?”

“Buy you a drink?” Was that too forward? Of course it was, Kya _always_ was. “You need to get your head out of the job sometimes, Lin. You're just going in circles! Take a break, okay?”

Lin turned away, looking out over her city. Kya chewed on her lip, unobserved. “Fine. One drink.”

She took the opportunity of Lin's inattention to do a happy squirm dance.

“I can see your reflection in the window, you know.”

The squirm dance halted, and she straightened immediately. “Yes, well. Drink then?”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tsu Ying didn't know why she was running.

She didn't know where she was going.

She didn't really know where she was.

Guanlin. Her home town. Red Lotus. For how long?

Her family had died. She'd left the only home she'd ever known, she'd said, to help protect it. To help make the world safer.

She'd left because she was too weak to stay. Too weak to see the reminders, to remember.

And now the Red Lotus had taken over.

The people who had plunged the Earth Kingdom into civil war now controlled a big chunk of it. How could that have happened? How could that be real? Nothing made sense. Nothing.

“Tsu Ying?” Mako called from behind her.

He was following her?

Of course he was.

Why?

Because he's Mako. Good guy Mako.

He's got a job to do!

He's more than his job. So are you.

Am I? What's left? Not my home, not my family. All I've got is a spear and a knife and a uniform.

And a sweet young man following you.

Why is he following me?!

You want him to follow you.

No! Yes... maybe. He should be happy! Back doing his job, since I clearly can't.

Clearly, neither can he. Not while you're running away.

Then what am I supposed to do?

“Could you stop running?” Mako shouted. “There's... there's nobody else around.”

Her legs stopped. She doubled over, panting. Mako jogged the remaining distance.

She looked around. Where had she stopped? The buildings and the road were behind them, the mountains were the same she'd grown up under. But she didn't recognize the place.

Mako placed a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her to the ground. Then he sat beside her looking at the mountains, almost casually, like that's what they'd come here to do.

She took a long moment, catching her breath. He did the same.

Why had he followed her? Cop instinct? Why wasn't he talking? Why did he have to be here, seeing her weak like this? “I'm s—”

“Don't be.”

Tsu Ying looked away. “You followed me.”

“I... didn't want you getting lost.”

“In my home town?”

“I didn't mean geographically. It was... more of a metaphor. Like, inside your head.”

She chuckled. “I got it.”

He nodded. “Okay then.”

Tsu Ying turned away, not sure what to do about his... presence, beside her. Her fingers plucked aimlessly at the grass. “What... you said in the jeep. How you raised your brother, made yourself hard to survive on the streets. I... ran away from this place before. I didn't have a brother, to fight for. Just memories. And now even those are gone.”

Mako leaned back on his hands. “My brother is all grown up, now. He's successful, he has a great girlfriend who loves him to death. Driven, but still... kind of innocent. Sometimes it's frustrating, how naive he can be, but sometimes... sometimes it's the thing I'm proudest about in the world. Knowing that he still has that. That I kept enough of the darkness away from him. That everything I did wasn't for nothing.”

“Must be nice,” Tsu Ying muttered. “Nothing I've done has mattered worth a damn.”

“Hey, don't think like that.”

“Why shouldn't I?” she snapped her head around, glaring at him.

“I don't.”

A breeze wafted past in the pause as they stared at each other. The scent of the dandyflowers she'd collected growing up wafted through the air. She'd made crowns of them, for her mother.

Tsu Ying looked away. “You should get back.”

“I'm sure somebody else has taken charge by now. I'd just confuse things.”

She snorted. Confuse things. “What... what is this?”

“What is what?”

She shrugged, lifting her hand, motioning between the two of them.

“Oh. Um... I dunno. You had a problem. I don't like when my friends have problems.”

Friends. “So, you usually push yourself into people's problems then?”

Mako pinched his chin, thoughtfully. “Sometimes? I guess I kinda play it by ear. Most of the girls in my life have been really confusing.”

Girls in his life. “Oh, I bet all the big city girls fell over themselves for a guy like you.”

“Uh, not really. Though I guess Asami did hit me with her moped, so that's kinda like falling over herself. Why are we talking about this?”

She looked at him, eyebrow raised. Seriously? “What if I told you that all the boys in town used to fight over who would take me to our harvest dance?”

“I'd... believe you?”

Tsu Ying held back a laugh. “And what if I said I was the one who fought all the boys over which one I'd drag out dancing?”

Mako chuckled. “I'd definitely believe you.”

She chuckled, curling her knees up and resting her arms on them. Forgetting for a moment where they were, why they were there, just thinking of who she was with... it was good. “You know, sometimes, I'm not sure if you're flirting or not.”

“Wu has told me the same thing,” Mako said, a frown in his voice. “I'm never sure what he means.”

Tsu Ying glanced to check—yes, he did seem to be serious. “I kinda caught that vibe,” she said.

“Vibe?”

Shu was going to laugh his ass off when she told him about this entire conversation. She pushed herself up, dusting off her pants. “Thanks, Mako. I'm... happy to know somebody cares enough to chase me down and tackle me for my own good.”

“I didn't tackle you.”

“True. Maybe next time, you should.” She strode past him, marching back into town, cherishing the look of bewilderment on his face.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“So,” Tonraq began, holding Senna close as they leaned against Naga's side on the ferry to Air Temple Island.

Senna's eyes gleamed as she watched the city shrink in the distance. “Did you see how everything else vanished once she looked at her?”

“That depends. Is 'she' our daughter, or is 'her' our daughter?”

Senna rolled her eyes, nudging him in the side. The trip north had been exactly what the family needed—airing all their grievances, letting the love that was the foundation shine through like new. How nervous must Korra have felt, coming to tell them about Asami? Her own parents had put up a bit of a fight over Tonraq—she'd vowed then and there that no child of hers would be shamed for who they loved.

“There really is something there, I think,” Tonraq said. “I hope everything was alright. We seemed to come at a bad time.”

“Bad times happen of their own accord,” Senna said. “Good times, we need to make.”

“We will,” he said, holding her close.

Their warm fluffy seat stood abruptly, leaving the two of them to flop against the deck.

“Ow.” “Naga...”

The polar bear dog whined at them apologetically, before bounding onto the dock as they approached it, running past several figures to roll on the grass.

Tonraq grabbed their things, following Senna off the boat. They didn't make it two steps before

“Uncle.”

Tonraq smiled. That's part of why Senna had fallen in love with him to begin with—that deep love, that loyalty. Everyone else—herself included—found the twins creepy, but they were his family. “Eska,” she said. “It's good to see you.”

“Indeed. The feeling is mutual. If you would put down your baggage, I would like to attempt an affectionate hug.”

Senna chuckled beside him as he set it all down. “You never struck me as much of a hugger, before.”

“It has been pointed out to me that my father did not socialize us properly. I am attempting to correct this deficiency.” She reached her arms out, glided toward Tonraq until their chests touched, then pivoted her shoulders until her arms, roughly, reached around him.

Senna had to cover her mouth. Eska trying to act normal was even more off-putting and awkward than she usually was!

“You still don't have it right,” Tonraq said, his huge hands planting at the center of Eska's back and lifting her from the ground.

“You are attempting to... as...phyx...i...” Eska said, her face turning blue. “Air?” she wheezed.

Tonraq laughed, setting her down.

“That's... just his way of doing it,” Senna explained, pulling the winded young woman into a light embrace. “Something like this may be more your style.”

“Indeed. Less prone to bruising. Shall we continue indoors? The hour is late.”

“We're pretty rested actually,” Tonraq said. “But yes, it's best to get settled.”

Eska led them into the temple, gliding forward in her oddly smooth way. She was attempting to learn how other people thought, and her very insistence on this meeting meant she and Desna were taking their duties seriously. The Northerners may have done poorly by the South, but they were still her sister tribe—she wanted them to be ruled well. The damage Unalaq had done would take some time to repair, after all.

“Tonraq, Senna!” Pema greeted as they came through the dining room where she'd been chatting with Bumi. Bolin and Opal were sitting at the table, cutting off a quiet conversation as well

“Pema, you're looking wonderful,” Senna said, bringing her into a hug. Eska watched with interest.

“Oh, I'm a mess. But you? You have to tell me how you keep your hair so full! But look at me babbling, when you've been on the road. Korra isn't with you?”

“No, she said she had to spend the night with that Asami friend of hers,” Tonraq said. “It seems a little irregular, if you ask me, two grown women staying up late, gossiping about boys or whatever they get up to.”

Pema, Bumi, Bolin, and Opal all stared at him. Eska turned so smoothly it looked like only her head moved, to stare as well.

“What? Are they going to braid each others' hair, too?”

Senna flicked his shoulder. “Stop that. It's alright, everybody. We _know_.”

The room let out a breath. Bumi slapped his knee, roaring laughter.

“The Water Tribe has an old saying,” Senna sighed, smiling. “A man's wit is a woman's burden.”

Opal snorted, earning her a flat look from Bolin. “What?”

“That hurts, Opal.”

“Aww,” she said, touching his arm. “I wasn't thinking about you. I was thinking about other, less funny men.”

“Sure you were,” Bumi muttered, loud enough to be heard.

She flashed him a glare, then patted Bolin's cheek. “You know I think you're hilarious.”

Pema cleared her throat. “I had a room prepared for you. It's a bit further from the kitchen than the one you used last time, but the view is lovely.”

“We're grateful for the hospitality,” Tonraq said.

Senna glanced at the hallway to the room they'd stayed in last time. Three years ago. There were bad memories for them, there. “Yes. Thank you.”

Pema smiled quietly, and went about clearing plates from the table and generally putting the room order. Nobody else paid her mind. Senna started picking up cups.

“Bolin, Opal,” Tonraq greeted. “Good to see you both again.

“Hi, Tonraq, Senna,” Bolin replied, waving. He seemed a trifle subdued—odd, considering how boisterous he usually was. The girl with him—Opal—patted his arm, giving Senna a quick smile. Whatever it was, it was being handled.

“Um...” someone said, entering the room. “Bumi?”

The airbender quirked his eyebrow. “Is there another dashing, brave, and powerful son of the Avatar present?”

The man took a step toward him. “You should come to the radio room. Message from the Fire Nation.”

“Huh. Izumi calling late again. That woman has no respect for other peoples' time, I swear.”

“No, Bumi, it's...” he noticed Tonraq and Senna. “You two, you're the Avatar's parents. Is she here?”

They glanced at each other, frowning. “What's wrong?” Tonraq said.

“Izumi wants her help, she says...” he turned toward Pema, shaking his head. “It's about Tenzin.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Beta'd, again, by Wordcatchers. Thanks!)
> 
> You'll note, at no point did I ever claim not to be evil. 
> 
> I mean, all of Korra's and Tonraq's humor. So bad. 
> 
> What else would I have been talking about? 
> 
> Hey, at least Kya's back in the story! Probably doesn't have anything in particular in mind though. 
> 
> Also, this whole arc with Mako is... just so pleasant to write. It's been a big surprise for me, not what I expected of it, but I'm pleased with how it's been working out. 
> 
> Thoughts on these developments? I know, pretty fluffy chapter by and large, other than all the heavy stuff on the fringes. Turns out, I like writing adorable awkwardness.


	13. War Council

“ _So, Korra?” Asami asked, as they walked beneath a waterfall that arched upward into the air, casting rainbows in every direction. The physics of it were too bewildering to even speculate about. “Given that this is the Spirit World... any reason we're not encountering that many spirits?”_

“ _Um... huh.” Korra stopped, looking around, frowning. That_ is _pretty weird. I mean, there's some, flying around over there...”_

“ _Sure, there's plenty of the bird and insect style ones. But I mean, intelligent spirits, that you can talk to. We sought out Won Xi Tong, and I encountered those little Asami's when we got separated, but past that?”_

_Korra started to cross her arms, realized they were still holding hands, so let her other hand flop to her side instead. “Hmm. Normally they're kind of all over the place. I'd trip on them.”_

“ _You don't... you don't think they're avoiding me, do you?”_

“ _What? No!”_

“ _Because I'm the only variable that's changed, and if it's normally different—”_

“ _Hey. No. You're great. You found those little guys, remember? They loved you. They're probably building a shrine. A huge statue of you in the middle of the little city you showed them how to build.”_

_Asami smirked. “You saw the statue then.”_

“ _Avatar Korra Park? Please tell me you weren't part of that.”_

“ _I... may have insisted that green space was a critical aspect of any city's infrastructure. For health reasons.”_

“ _Uh-huh. And the statue?”_

 _She sighed, squeezing Korra's hand. “I had to have_ somewhere _I could talk to you. You weren't writing back, you know.”_

_Korra winced. “I... I kinda did though.”_

_Asami straightened. “What?”_

“ _I kind of... maybe... wrote a ton of letters. I just never sent them.”_

_She'd written letters._

_She just never sent them._

“ _You're... you're mad, aren't you.”_

_Asami grit her teeth. “No.”_

“ _You are.”_

“ _I'm trying hard not to be.”_

“ _You're squeezing my hand.”_

“ _I don't want you getting away. I may have to shake you violently.”_

“ _Should I explain?”_

_Asami threw up her free hand. “Yes!”_

_Korra took hold of that hand too, twining their fingers together._

“ _Okay. Well, first of all, my handwriting is terrible.”_

_Asami's eyebrow twitched. “Korra...”_

“ _Alright, alright,” Korra laughed. “I needed some way to put my thoughts down. I started writing back, but I would always get into wallowing about how awful I felt, and you were trying so hard to cheer me up. I was... I was in a_ really _bad place, Asami. I didn't want you to know that. I didn't want_ anyone _to know that.”_

“ _Korra, if I'd have known—”_

“ _You'd have left your company, and come down, and what? You couldn't put my legs back together. You couldn't fix my bending.”_

“ _I could have been_ there _for you.”_

_Korra kissed her hand, and Asami felt her frustration waning. A little. “And that would have made me feel worse, knowing what you were missing. Look, we can go around and around about this. Those three years apart, they happened. We both wish they hadn't. Maybe, if we'd already been together, things could have been different, but...” she sighed, her thumb tracing the back of Asami's fingers. “Let's hope we never have to find out.”_

“ _We_ won't _,” Asami said firmly. “Promise me, Korra. Whatever else happens, don't you ever shut me out again. I don't care if it's for my own good, I don't care how guilty you might feel about it. You_ tell me _.”_

“ _Would you have told me?”_

_Asami blinked._

“ _If you were hurt. If you lost everything, if you didn't feel like yourself. If you didn't feel like you had anything left to live for, and you thought, maybe you shouldn't—”_

“ _Korra!”_

“ _You asked! Asami...” she hung her head down. “You asked. I... didn't think I'd ever get better. I could have lingered for years, or decades. But the world needed an Avatar.”_

_Korra's fingers tightened around Asami's trembling hands._

“ _If you'd been there, I wouldn't have been strong enough to...”_

_Asami gulped. “To what, Korra?”_

_She looked away._

“ _Korra. To_ what? _” Her voice cracked._

_Korra dragged her into a fierce hug. “I don't know if I was too strong or too weak. I thought... if I could never get better, the world was better off without me.”_

_Asami squeezed Korra with all her might, shaking her head. “No, no, no...”_

“ _What if you'd come? What if I was still there, still couldn't walk. What if—”_

“ _Stop!” Asami begged. “Stop, Korra... I... I can't bear to think about that. I... you're not just the Avatar. You're Korra.”_

“ _The world doesn't need just Korra.”_

 _She made fists in Korra's shirt, burying her eyes in her shoulder. “You're all I have,” she whispered. “The world... the world will just have to learn to take care of itself, because you are_ not _making that sacrifice!”_

 _Korra kissed her temple. “I knew you'd say that. And I thought..._ then _, I thought_ then, _that I might have to. See why I never sent those letters?”_

_Asami sniffed. “Korra, you promise me. Promise me right now, you'll never even think like that again.”_

“ _I can't promise how I'll think, Asami.”_

“ _I'd never forgive you.” She shook her head. “Not for that. I don't care why. I don't care about the world, if that's what it takes. I would live the rest of my days and I would never, never forgive you for that.”_

“ _Asami...”_

_She took Korra's shoulders, staring her in the eye. “Promise me!”_

_Korra bit her lip. “I'll never leave you, Asami. Not for anything.”_

_Asami slumped, her breath shuddering. “You realize, after hearing that, I'm never letting go of you again.”_

“ _That... might make a few things rather difficult.”_

_She wrapped her arms around Korra, squeezing her tight. “Right. Because up to now, everything has been so easy.”_

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

Asami's knuckles were white as she clutched the steering wheel, driving toward City Hall. Korra was quiet beside her, even in the face of two of her least favorite things: an extremely early morning and a meeting with Raiko.

Bumi's call had woke them both up, and kept them both from getting an ounce of sleep. She almost wanted to yell at the man—if they couldn't act until morning, couldn't they at least have had that night?

But she couldn't blame him. Tenzin and Zuko were both hurt—nobody knew how badly yet, or at least nobody would say—and the town he was in had risen in revolt. Bumi and Izumi's families were in danger, of course they wanted to deploy the Avatar as fast as possible.

She took a turn a little too fast, fishtailing the back end of her car before regaining full control.

Tenzin was like family to her, too. Besides Korra, he was as close to family as she had left.

“Why are we even _going_ to this meeting?” Korra asked. “Izumi wants my help, not Raiko's. I should be on my way now!”

“The Fire Lord clearly understated the severity of her problem before. Multiple political figures are impacted now—the United Republic has to have a response. And frankly, I'd be happier if you had some help with you.”

“Some help? Asami, I can have the whole Air Nation at my back. This is _Tenzin_ we're talking about!”

Asami bit her lip, forcing herself to ease off the accelerator. The truth was, whatever had happened to Tenzin, had _happened—_ there was little chance Korra could help him now, even if she'd left last night. Part of Korra had to know that.

But the thing Korra hated most, worse than mornings and worse than Raiko, was feeling powerless.

“He survived Amon and Zaheer,” Asami said. “Bumi said the reports were sketchy. The Fire Lord is probably just doesn't want to seem callous when a visiting dignitary is in danger.”

“She doesn't seem the type to spook easy, 'sami.”

“Maybe not normally, but her dad's involved too.”

“Maybe.” Korra sounded skeptical. “And here, I went and left the one person who could find out what's going on in the Spirit World where nobody can contact her!”

Bad luck did have it's knack for timing. She stopped them at a light, nearly to their destination, and took the chance to reach for Korra's hand. “Hey. It'll be okay. If you can't fix it, I can, right?”

Korra forced herself to smile. “Right.”

Not long after, Asami pulled her Satomobile up against another of their mutual least-favorite things: reporters. Flashbulbs were going off before she killed the engine.

“Avatar Korra!” “Miss Sato!” “Are there any truth to the rumors about—” “What's the purpose of this meeting—” “Was Future Industries at all involved in—” “Any comments on the situation in—”

Korra yanked her glider from the back, and stood, one boot on her seat, the other on the side of the car. She reached down for Asami. “Want a lift?”

Asami looked at the mob of press surrounding the car, and took Korra's hand, allowing herself to be guided up into the Avatar's embrace.

The glider flicked open, and Asami held her legs together tight and Korra tighter as a localized gale flew them above the reporters' heads, carrying a few hats along with them. They landed near the top of the steps, stepping apart long enough for a glider to be collapsed and a skirt to be smoothed out, respectively.

Republic City's press corps had gotten over its shock quickly, and was advancing toward them. More shouted questions fired up the steps.

Asami took Korra's hand as she turned to go inside. “Hey... want to give them a story? Maybe distract them from all the problems we don't want them focusing on just now?”

Korra glanced over her head—thanks to being two steps further up. “You sure?”

“I'm willing,” Asami answered, surprised at how very, very true that was. Something about the whole city watching put a sudden thrill into her chest. She knew she should be scared of the consequences, should be more focused on Tenzin and on what she'd done yesterday and on _everything_ , but somehow, the very fact that this might be a bad idea suddenly made it feel like a great one.

Korra took one step down and to Asami's side, her hand on Asami's shoulder as she stared down the slowing journalists. “As a matter of fact,” Korra shouted, her voice booming enough to be heard from the back, “we do have a comment to make!”

With that, she spun Asami off her feet, dipping her so her hair draped, and kissed her _hard._

Asami closed her eyes, and kissed back, and saw flashes that had nothing to do with the reporters.

As swiftly as it had started, Korra pulled her back up and into the world. Asami put her hand to her chest, catching her breath, grinning. “Well,” she said, blinking. “If it didn't get their attention, it certainly got mine.”

Korra smirked, but her eyes were already all business. “Let's get inside.”

They strode through City Hall together, toward the old Council chamber where the meeting was to be held. Bumi was already there, looking militant if slightly out of place in his glider suit. He was clearly as eager to get moving as Korra. “Good, you're the last ones here, unless somebody found Lin.”

Asami blinked. “What happened to Lin?”

“Who else is there?” Korra asked.

“Lin, nobody can seem to reach. Your dad and your cousin came with me. General Iroh's here too.”

General Iroh—this could be a difficult meeting for him. He was head of the Republic's forces, but he was also Izumi's son. He'd try to be professional, but he would clearly want to weigh in. “Why the Water Tribes?”

“I don't know, why don't we go in and let them tell us? Ladies? C'mon?” He gestured them through the door.

Everyone else was already seated at the table. Two seats were saved between the General and Korra's father, a third between Eska and the President. Eska stood when she saw her cousin, but Tonraq coughed, and motioned her down.

Asami and Tonraq shared a smile as she passed, letting Korra sit next to her dad. Bumi shut the door and rushed to his seat.

Raiko cleared his throat. “Thank you, everyone, for joining at such short notice. General Iroh, I realize that you are not technically entitled to speak for the Fire Nation, but given your familial relations, your insight should prove valuable.”

“Anything I can do to help,” Iroh said, worry in his misleadingly-youthful voice.

The President nodded. “I wish we could have some representative of the Earth territories here, but with no central government and everyone of importance on their way to Ba Sing Se or trapped in Zaofu, we shall have to do our best without.”

“Trapped?” Tonraq asked.

Raiko nodded. “We don't know much, as of yet,” Raiko said. “A hostile force, presumably a remnant of Kuvira's army, has cut Zaofu's communication and rail lines.”

Korra looked at Asami, shocked, then more so, to see Asami so calm. “Suyin was fine last week! Did you know about this?”

“She was supposed to inform you,” Raiko said, an eyebrow raised.

Asami winced. “Yes, I was. Korra only returned late last night, and other events have taken our attention until now.”

Korra nodded beside her, clearly worried but accepting the explanation.

Raiko, just as clearly, did not. “I've tried to keep word of this out of the papers. We still have the bulk of Kuvira's army camped under guard outside the city. We're close to finding a way to break it apart and peacefully parole the troops, but anything involving Kuvira's forces remains a touchy subject. Reporters are just beginning to catch wind of the lack of communication from Zaofu, so we may see that headline sooner than we'd like regardless.”

“We won't see it tomorrow,” Korra muttered so only Asami could hear.

Asami kicked her lightly under the table.

General Iroh sat forward. “Suyin sent a trio of messenger airships to request aid, but only one of them has reached us, and that only because one of our own airships was scouting the area.”

Raiko nodded along. “Obviously, we need to send a relief mission as quickly as we can.”

“Hey,” Bumi said, leaning against the table. “What about Tenzin? Iroh, I'm sure you're concerned with what's going on back home.”

“We'll discuss that, too,” Raiko said, his hands raised to placate the table. “But frankly, between the two crises, I'd rather focus on the one involving an army that's already attacked my city than an internal problem an ocean away.”

“My brother's life is not an 'internal problem'!” Bumi snapped.

“We're all very worried about Tenzin,” Tonraq said. “But we can't ignore Zaofu or the rest of the Earth territories. A little bit of coordination could save lives.”

“I promised to help the Earth Kingdom—or territories or whatever they are,” Korra said. “But I also promised Tenzin I'd come right away if he needed me. I can't be two places at once.”

Asami nodded. She'd known it was inevitable for something like this to happen, she'd even started figuring out solutions for it, but hadn't had nearly enough time to implement them. Why was there never enough time? “Planning is good, but useless if we're too slow. General Iroh, how fast could you have a relief force ready to move?”

“Depending on its size and composition... a few days. I would take weeks to get to Zaofu, assuming nothing stopped us.”

“You could use trains to advance to a forward camp,” Bumi suggested, glowering that they weren't on the topic he wanted.

“I can do us one better,” Asami offered. “As it happens, Suyin has an order for weapons about ready to ship.”

Raiko leaned forward. “I thought you were going to honor my order, first?”

“I said I would expand and expedite your order, not that I'd ignore all others,” Asami said, smiling sweetly. “Given the temporary lull in construction, and who the order is for, I recruited Su's metalbenders to help boost my production in the short term. If that works as I hope it does, I may be able to fulfill both orders, ahead of schedule.” She smirked—let him chew on that. “Besides, do you _really_ want to deprive weapons to Zaofu now?”

“Didn't Raiko say the city was being blockaded?” Eska asked.

Tonraq gave his niece a respectful nod.

“Oh, I heard,” Asami said, her mind already scanning through her ledgers. “I also happen to have a dozen airships I started mobilizing days ago, as soon as the President told me about Zaofu. They can't transport an army, but I'm loading them with weapons as fast as I can crate them up. Their aerial blockade isn't complete. If we fly in at night, with airbenders providing silent propulsion, and perhaps waterbenders providing cloud cover, I doubt they'll even know we're there.”

“Ooh, that's clever,” Bumi complimented. “Somebody has been paying attention to all my tactical lessons.” Honestly, she'd paid enough attention to look up the actual events, but if she'd gleaned some tactical prowess through all that, all well and good.

“There haven't been many tests on large scale combinations of bending forms,” Iroh said, thumb and forefinger worrying at his chin. “Much less with including airbenders. But the concept seems simple enough.”

Asami nodded. “In the meantime, Korra can lead a small force to the Fire Nation. Like you said, Mr. President, the problem is internal. Nobody there has an issue with us, and frankly, we don't know enough about what's going on to get involved. What we really want is to get Tenzin and anyone else helping him safely out of there.”

“That is... somewhat less than Fire Lord Izumi requested,” Raiko said. “She wants international peacekeepers to ensure that nobody thinks she's cracking down too hard.”

Eska scoffed. “She has a problem this big and worries that people will think ill of her when she fixes it?”

“Perceptions _are_ pretty important,” Tonraq said. “When a government seems to react badly to one problem it can create a dozen others.”

“Any peacekeeping force large enough to matter would take at least as long to muster as the Zaofu relief force,” Iroh said. “And even longer to arrive. If we called Korra's group 'observers' instead...”

“Izumi would get her witnesses,” Asami said, “and we might get there in time to save Tenzin.”

Korra coughed. “Have we heard any more about him? Izumi didn't have much to tell us last night.”

Raiko shook his head. “Her own information sounds garbled. The company that runs the town claims that anarchists within the workforce took Tenzin and Zuko hostage, along with two Northern Tribe citizens.”

Eska raised her eyebrow at that. “I was not aware of this.”

“Spiritbenders,” Korra said, slumping back in her chair and crossing her arms. “Tenzin called them in so I wouldn't have to go. It should be me there...”

“Korra...” Tonraq said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Beneath the table, Asami touched her leg with the same intent in mind.

“Ah. I recall the pair,” Eska said. “They are very odd and the subject of some scorn. Nonetheless, as Northern citizens, it is my duty to see to their safety. I should come on this mission.”

“As I recall,” Raiko said, his voice raised just enough to let them know he intended to be in charge of this meeting, “you were here to negotiate with Chief Tonraq and myself regarding human use of the Spirit World.”

“With everything else going on?” Bumi shouted.

“We were to negotiate with Jinora and Korra as well.” Eska said. “If Korra is on a mission then we shall have to wait.” She tilted her head. “Unless you and Tonraq would like to come with us? I know my uncle to be a superior fighter if the need arises.”

“My uh... talents lie elsewhere,” Raiko said. Bumi snorted, and Asami had to cover her mouth not to laugh too. “Besides, this is a crisis because one world leader's life is in peril; would putting another two, plus the Avatar, in the same boat really help matters? That's what we have soldiers for to begin with.”

As gutless as it sounded, Raiko wasn't wrong. He'd be worse than useless in a fight. “When those world leaders happen to be some of the most capable fighters in the world and we need to pack as much punch with a small a party as possible, it may be worth the risk. We can take some bison from Air Temple Island and be on our way by midday.”

“I agree with the president,” Iroh said. “You may be used to fighting, but you're too important to risk.”

“Says General Fire Prince over here,” Bumi muttered.

“If we are to consider perceptions,” Eska said, “perhaps the world seeing myself and Chief Tonraq cooperate in this could do much to heal the rift between our tribes.”

“That it could,” Tonraq agreed. “Which could help people accept whatever we decide in the Spirit World negotiations.”

“It... still seems unwise,” Raiko persisted.

“Well, last time I checked, Eska and my dad aren't Republic citizens either, so if they want to come on a special Avatar mission, and I want them there, you guys don't exactly get a vote in the matter.”

Raiko glared, but what could he say to that? Still, Asami made her tone conciliatory. “I'm sure Bumi already has some bison saddled and some airbenders picked to help.”

“Maybe Bolin too? That should help this look international enough for Izumi.”

“Good. I can just stop by my office, and—”

“Asami,” Korra interrupted, her tone serious. “I don't want you to come.”

“W...what?” She shook her head.

“Zaofu is in trouble, too,” Korra said. She turned, taking Asami's hand, ignoring Raiko's scowl. “You know there's nobody else I'd rather have watching my back, but there's also nobody else I'd rather be _here_ , organizing relief for Su. Mako's there too, remember? And Wu? On their way to Ba Sing Se, to turn the old Earth Kingdom into something modern and stable? This could derail all of that.”

Asami still shook her head. “Fine, but... I want to come with you. I want to be _there_.”

“Asami,” Tonraq said, leaning around his daughter to look her in the eye. “Believe me, I understand where you're coming from. I know it's hard. But sometimes, this is what loving the Avatar means.”

“But...”

“Asami,” Korra said, chuckling. “Our friends in Zaofu need our help. The whole world needs our help. If I can't do it myself, there's nobody else in the world I'd rather have handle it.”

Raiko cleared his throat.

She kept her eyes locked on Asami's. “Yes, Mr. President, I know you're there. We won't shut you out. But when I'm out of town, treat Asami as you would me.” Now she did shift her eyes, glaring at him. “Only _polite_.”

Asami couldn't see his reaction, still staring at Korra like she was. But she could imagine.

“It...” General Iroh offered, “it _would_ be helpful to have her around to expedite Future Industries' involvement.”

“Yes, expedite, fine,” Raiko said. “But any relief force we send will be at _my_ sufferance. We do all understand that I am the authority here?”

“Of course we do,” Tonraq intoned, his glance warning the table.

“That seems observably false,” Eska said.

Asami winced.

Raiko slammed his hands against the table. “Fine, then. If I'm so irrelevant to the meeting _I_ called, to advise _me_ in _my_ decision, I'll simply leave. I've other matters to attend to.” He shoved his chair back and stormed out.

Tonraq pinched his nose, muttering, “See, this is exactly what I meant about perception.”

“Ah,” Eska said.

“Don't feel too bad,” Bumi said. “Nobody likes that guy anyway.”

Asami pushed back from the table. “If the rest of you could hammer out some details, I... I need a moment.”

“Of course,” General Iroh said, trying to retain a sense of professionalism as the meeting collapsed around him.

The old Council chamber had several small rooms off to the side—Asami had been here enough times to know the layout. She let herself into one, letting the door close before leaning against a wall, her head against her arm.

Everything Korra said made sense. She wouldn't be going alone, and there was important work to do here—as well as smoothing over the president, which was no easy feat. It made sense for her to stay, and spearhead the Zaofu relief effort.

But she didn't want to do any of that. How could she, if Korra was going into danger?

Her logic and her instincts didn't line up.

Someone knocked at the door. “Come in, Korra,” Asami said.

The Avatar shut the door gently behind her, putting her hands on Asami's shoulders. “Hey. You alright?”

“How can you ask me to stay?”

“You didn't have a problem when I went into the Spirit World.”

Hadn't she? “I... didn't want to look clingy. And I know we have to both live our lives, but... this is different. You left a few days, and I... look what I did.”

Korra's arms wrapped around her, her face nuzzling the back of Asami's neck.

“Is that why you don't want me along? Maybe I'll escalate this situation, too?”

“What? Asami...” Korra turned her around, ducking down to get in her line of sight. “Asami, look. I get it. You made a call you regret, you're second-guessing yourself. I know that feeling so well, they should rename it after me. But I meant everything I said. I want you here because I _have_ to know the best possible person in the world is taking care of it. I'll be able to finish up in the Fire Nation faster, knowing that I can trust your judgment, your compassion, your... general Asami-ness. If it weren't for Zaofu being in trouble, I'd have you along without a question, but as it is...”

Asami closed her eyes, forcing her way through the logic of it, piece by piece. She pushed her feelings down, listened to the logic. She hated doing it, hoped she'd never have to, with Korra, but the situation was bigger than the two of them.

“Besides...” Korra smirked, “if I was worried about the situation escalating, I wouldn't let Eska come along. Because she'd Eska-late it. Eska...”

Asami stared at her, eyes narrowed. “No, Korra.”

“Sorry.”

The sheepish look on her girlfriend's face made Asami smile in spite of herself. She pressed her own hands into the small of Korra's back. “I just... I want to be there for you.”

“I know.”

“I'm not sure you do. After... during Kuvira's attack, after my ejection seat landed, I had a couple cracked ribs and I'd just seen my father die, but do you know what I did? I ran through the city, trying to get to you.”

“Trying to get to... I was inside the colossus!”

“I know!” Asami laughed, resting her forehead against Korra's. “I know that. When you blocked the spirit beam, I had to duck into a stairwell to escape the blast. I just... you were all I had left. I don't know what I even would have done if I'd gotten there, I didn't even have my glove or my... or anything else. I think it's just... After you were gone so long, the idea of letting you go off to fight, without me there... could turn out like Zaheer, all over again.”

“This won't turn out like that,” Korra said firmly.

“I know! I know... but I guess, part of me doesn't.” She nuzzled her head against Korra's, closing her eyes to feel her warmth, her heartbeat. “It scares me sometimes, how much I love you.”

She felt Korra's chuckle across her entire body, and shivered. “Isn't that a good thing?”

Asami craned her head back enough to kiss her. “If it isn't, I'm too in love to see it.”

Korra quirked an eyebrow, a smug grin on her lips that presaged something really corny. “You're saying my sheer sexual magnetism has blinded you? Because—”

She put a finger over Korra's lips. “Let me guess: extremely labored Toph joke.”

Korra pouted. “No fair!”

Another knock came at the door. “Are you two okay in there?” Tonraq asked.

“We're just strategizing!” Korra shouted back. “Be out in a minute.”

“Well, alright, honey,” he replied, muffled.

Korra rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to Asami. “You're okay, though?”

Asami bit her lip, nodding. “I will be. Your dad is right, I need to learn to let you go be the Avatar without me sometimes.”

“Unfortunately... but good thing my parents are in town. My mom will be right on Air Temple Island, there worrying beside you.”

Air Temple Island. Asami bonked her head with the heel of her hand. “Oh spirits, Pema must be beside herself right now! And the kids...”

Korra's hands clasped the back of her neck. “See why I want you here? You'll take care of everyone. Probably, by the time I get back, you'll have the situation all wrapped up and Zaofu better off than it was before.”

She rested her hands on Korra's wrists, nodding. “Okay, Korra. I'll do it. But don't you take any risks. You sweep in there and save Tenzin and everyone else, you find out what's been causing the problem and you do what your dad told you when you were a kid: deal with them.”

“I will.” Korra kissed her. “And you'll do everything you can to save Zaofu?”

“I'll use every weapon at my disposal.”

Korra kissed her again. “Good. Now, let's get back out there before they think we're canoodling.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Raiko stormed into his office, slamming the door behind him. The nerve of all these people! Just because most of them had stumbled into their positions thanks to blood, they acted like they had the right to run roughshod over everyone else! When had either of them stood for election? Proven to their people and to the world that they were the best and most deserving person to rule? When was the last time any of them was truly responsible for the needs of their people? Yet they dared to come here, to _his_ capital, and make _him_ look useless?

The United Republic had one of the strongest economies in the world. Perhaps it didn't have an army of benders like the Water Tribes or the Fire Nation. Perhaps he himself lacked any martial prowess.

But there were few problems that money could not solve. Or at the least, shift.

And there were other leaders in the world who might be more grateful for his assistance. Natural allies, who might better represent their own people.

Raiko called his secretary. “Yes, could you look up that envoy from Lao? Tell her some time in my schedule just opened up.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by wordcatchers, thanks again! 
> 
> This will almost certainly be the shortest chapter of the story, and with the second-fewest perspectives. Throwing a bunch of people in a room together and making sure they all contribute is tough, but there's some pretty businesslike people there keeping things moving. 
> 
> I already know the headline from the next day's paper, but so much goes on after this in the timeline it's hard to work in! I'm sure I shall though, it is great. 
> 
> You may have noticed, even as events get more and more serious, fluff seems to keep sneaking in. I hate to say, but this might be the last big of korrasami fluff we get for a while, outside of the flashbacks. (Though this flashback turned pretty heavy... what's with that?) Hard to write fluff when they go off into separate plotlines, after all! 
> 
> Certainly there is none in the next chapter: "What Happened to Tenzin" 
> 
> Because yes. I didn't intend to leave 'gunshots, fade to black' hanging forever.
> 
> Comments? Questions? Gripes? Why, there's a convenient feature at the bottom of the page for you to log them! How 'bout that?


	14. What Happened to Tenzin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so no archive notes, I don't like spoiling things that might happen but... this chapter is unpleasant. It's meant to be. If anything, I wish it were more so. It's not graphic, but it is more or less a depiction of an active warzone, so... be advised.

“ _Can you describe seismic sense to me?” Asami asked out of the blue as Korra led her up a steep rock face._

“ _What brought this on? Gonna ask me what's inside this mountain, for your notebook?”_

“ _No. I mean, I_ wasn't _, but is there something interesting?”_

_Korra snickered. “Just making fun of you, bookworm. And I guess... it's kind of like, if you're in a dark room, and you can't see, but you put your hand in front of your face and you just kind of know it's there?”_

“ _So, it's like proprioception? But for rocks?”_

_Korra turned to frown at Asami, to see Asami frowning at her. “One of us just stopped making sense, there.”_

_Asami shook her head, raising a hand to flick her hair away from her neck. “Sorry. It's just... I can see bending, see how it works and how to counteract it. But what I don't know is, how do benders perceive the world differently? I've asked Tenzin about how airbending helps him feel the world, and he says it lets him feel movement that he cannot see. Jinora thinks there should be a way to use it to hear over greater distances, too, which makes sense. And you're staring at me.”_

“ _Uh, yeah. Yeah I am. You did that... that hair thing.”_

“ _What hair thing?”_

“ _You know! Where you casually push it off your neck so I can see how kissable it is.”_

_Asami looked at her with lowered eyelids, playing innocent. “Why, Korra, I'm flattered you think of me that way, but I have no idea what you're talking about.”_

_Was that so? Korra looked around, saw a nearby ledge that would suit her purpose. She shrugged her backpack off, for once glad of the sweat that had built up beneath it. “Could you hold my pack for a second? I want to see something up there.” She nodded toward the top of the ledge._

“ _Um, alright,” Asami said, her tone dubious._

“ _Go ahead and keep asking questions though.”_

_Asami leaned against the rock wall. “Alright. Can you sense things coming at you in the air? Like, can an earthbender sense a rock flying at them?”_

_Korra turned her back, stretching her neck side to side, then her arms. “Nope. Seismic sense uses vibrations in the ground. Only way to take Toph down is to launch an attack at her while you're in the air, so she can't feel what move you're making.”_

“ _Okay. What about Tenzin's airbending trick though? Can you...”_

_She reached up, flexing her back muscles and her arms, making a show of loosening up. “Can I what?”_

“ _Um... can you do that? Sense stuff coming at you?”_

_Korra shrugged. “A bit. I've probably dodged a few kicks and punches from it, though I don't really think about how I know what I know when I'm fighting. I just respond to it.” She hopped up, clasping a small handhold with her fingertips._

“ _Is that true for metalbending, too? Do you have to see the metal to buh—”_

_Korra pulled herself up, using only her arms. She allowed herself a grunt as she swung to the side, grasping another hand hold, stretching her arms apart. Her foot found purchase, enough to hold her weight, but she kept her muscles just tense enough to show their tone. “What was that, Asami?”_

“ _I...” she blinked, turning her flushed face away. “Metalbending! Right. Can you metalbend something away from you, without knowing it's coming?”_

_She turned back toward the rock face, foisting herself upwards. “Can't say that I've... ever... tried.” Korra grabbed onto another handhold, took a breath, swung herself wide for momentum, then hurled her other hand up to grab the top of the ledge. Another side-to-side swing, and she was able to hook a foot over and drag herself up, rolling onto her back. “Woo!” she shouted, punching the air. Then she turned toward Asami, and saw her staring._

_Asami saw that she'd been seen. She bit her lower lip. “Okay, I have a problem.”_

“ _What's that?”_

“ _There's too much space between me and a certain gorgeous show-off.”_

_Korra sat up, crossing her legs. “Is that so? You know, I thought I sensed something while I climbed. Couldn't tell you about arrows or flying rocks, but I sure as heck felt your eyes attacking me.”_

_The color on Asami's cheeks turned into a full-grown blush. “Maybe it's a good thing you're up there. If I could reach you, it would be more than my eyes attacking.” She brought a hand to the back of her neck, looked Korra straight in the eye, and flipped her hair, cascading those perfect dark locks mercilessly._

“ _Ack!” Korra feigned a blow to her heart. “Such violence!”_

“ _Clearly self-defense, after you assaulted me with those back muscles.” She fluttered her eyes, smiling up in a less-than-innocent way, and posed to show Korra her profile._

_Korra sat on the ledge, her legs over the side, and whistled. “You've practiced that.”_

“ _Maybe,” she said coyly. “Now, are you coming down here or am I coming to you? Because the kissing attack you're going to get is only getting more violent, the harder you make me work.”_

“ _That's hardly an enticement to come down, now, is it?” Korra lounged back on her arms._

_Asami gave her a nod, then charged the wall. Not quite where Korra had climbed it—there was a corner where two walls met. The engineer leaped at one wall, kicked off toward the other. The angle was bad, sending her arcing more parallel to Korra's ledge than toward it. Korra gasped, sweeping her legs up and back, reaching her arms out. “Asami!”_

_She caught them, with a grunt, clasping Korra's wrists as Korra grasped her in return. Asami looked up, her chest heaving, and smirked. “Now, show me that upper body strength of yours again?”_

“ _That was... on purpose?!”_

“ _Yup. I knew you'd catch me. Now either pull me up or I'll pull us both down.”_

_Korra smirked, straining her arms as she shifted herself for leverage and brought Asami onto the ledge on top of her._

_They lay that way for a moment, panting, tangled together, sweating. Korra let her arms rest on Asami's back, loving the weight pressing against her._

_Asami flicked her hair out of both of their faces, then kissed the edge of Korra's lips. “Well. Who do you think won that exchange?”_

“ _You cheated.”_

“ _I did what it took to come out on top.” Asami winked._

_Korra kissed her softly. “So now you have me right where you want me?”_

_Asami glanced at the rocky outcropping. “Honestly, I'd prefer somewhere softer. A mattress, perhaps? In a nice, private room?”_

_They both laughed, but Korra had to keep a wisp of anxiety out of hers. Yes, she'd been trying to get Asami's attention, to turn her on as much as she did Korra, but maybe she did her job too well. The comment only seemed like half a joke. “Well, can't say I've seen anything like that in the Spirit World.”_

“ _Hmm,” Asami said thoughtfully. Mysteriously. She had no other suggestion, but the seed had been planted, and suddenly something Korra had dreamed about seemed terrifyingly possible._

“ _You okay?” Asami asked. She must've felt Korra tense._

“ _Of course,” Korra said quickly. “Just a little sore is all.”_

“ _After all that, seems reasonable. Next time, we'll have to find a more fun way to get us both sore.”_

_Korra laughed._

_She was in trouble._

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

_Kuodan._

_Three days ago._

 

Caluqtiq pulled her son aside, standing against the wall. Lord Zuko had left the mine, and Tenzin had toured a few factories, but nobody knew where they were going next.

“Why are we stopping?” Nuktik asked, fidgeting against her.

She shook her head. “I'm not sure where to go. Maybe we should check back at Taka's headquarters? They may have come there for us.”

“I... I guess, maybe.”

“You don't think so?” Young though he was, Nuktik had an excellent ear for people's motivations, for guessing what they might want to do. But then, he would have to.

“They're both pretty... unsure, about what's going on here. They want to know, but they're afraid to find out, you know? Maybe a little ashamed?”

Caluqtiq looked at the street. There were more soldiers about than normal, or so it seemed to her. The whole place was filthy with soot, and the stink of the dead spirit still lingered in the air. “I can see why. And what, they're afraid we'll judge them for it?”

Nuktik shrugged. “You know how people are.”

She tilted her head, giving easy agreement to that.

A shower of muffled pops came from somewhere in the town. Nuktik tensed. “Were those... were those gunshots? Another spirit attack?”

If it was, they should do what they could to help, both for the town's sake and for the spirits'. But she didn't want Nuktik anywhere near where somebody was shooting. If they could do that to a dark spirit, what could they do to a person? “Stay behind me,” she said, jogging toward the sound.

A few more reports followed, scattered, enough to get their bearings. The sound came from inside the town, nowhere near the wall. A spirit _could_ have infiltrated that deep before being fought, possibly, but somehow, that didn't seem likely.

Though the streets were still relatively empty, those who were out now, were running. Soldiers, running toward the sounds, some casting Cal and her son glances. Red-banded locals, running the opposite way.

They were the only people on the street without an army uniform or a red armband. Everyone else had gone to ground.

Caluqtiq stopped, holding out her arm to stop her son. “What is it?” he asked.

“I don't know. But it isn't spirits.” Smoke was beginning to stream from a building up ahead. She began to back up, clutching her son's shoulder. “Maybe we should go.”

“What if somebody needs help?” Nuktik asked, watching the smoke rise.

Someone almost certainly did. “Nuktik, we don't know what's going on in this town, not really. We can't just charge into... a situation we're not familiar with and try to fix it.”

“But people could be hurt!”

She sighed. If people were hurt, they had to help them. For Nuktik, it really was that simple. And he'd always been so proud of how well he'd learned all the traditional healing techniques, even after...

“Okay,” she said. “But stay with me, be careful, and we leave the moment I say so. Got it?”

“Got it.”

Caluqtiq led them forward half a block, eyeing anyone who moved. More shots started, and she ducked into a doorway at once—but it was back the way they'd come. Spirits, where would they even go if they needed to run? Home hadn't been exactly welcoming, but she was just beginning to realize just how far away it was. Nobody here knew who they were, nobody cared about them.

At least they were used to taking care of themselves.

They continued toward the burning building, the smoke wafting into the street, casting everything into a choking haze. The men and women running through it looked like spirits themselves; an army unit skittered by like a single giant centipede, while the civilians stuck near the buildings, boiling indistinctly from and through the walls.

Her feet splashed through something, and she honestly didn't care what it was—she bent some of it around her, taking a ready stance. Nuktik did the same, staying close.

Army firebenders arrived at the scene shortly before they did, working to extinguish the flames. A woman was shouting furiously somewhere in the mist, unintelligible among the scampering footfalls and the crackle of the flames.

Nuktik coughed. Her own throat felt ragged, and her eyes burnt in the smoke as she cast about for somebody in charge. They'd probably be standing where they could see everything, stationary enough that people could find them...

Amidst the chaos of specters flitting through the smoke, there was an island that didn't seem to move. She didn't like the idea of leaving the partial cover of the building fronts, but if they wanted to do any good, they had to stick their necks out a little. “Come on,” she rasped, keeping low as they stepped into the street.

More gunshots fired in another part of the town. Shouts came from a street over. What were they doing here? “Excuse me?” she asked as they approached the still figures watching the building.

“Who're you?” one of them asked. Sounded feminine but she didn't want to assume.

“We're waterbenders. Healers. We want to help.”

The officer cursed. “You two!” another one said, definitely male. “You can't be here!”

Shouts and gunfire erupted a few blocks away. “Respectfully, it doesn't sound like anywhere else in town is any safer. At least here we can do some good. Are there any injured?”

“Let us put the damned fire out and we'll go check!” the feminine one said. “Now stand back!”

They both got behind the officer, Nuktik watching the burning building nervously, Caluqtiq watching the rest of the street. If anything came from the other direction, she wanted to be ready for it. Shadows lingered against the far buildings, watching with interest. Everything was orange in the haze, but she could make out arm bands on most of them.

“We've got casualties, ma'am!” somebody shouted. “We count four so far!”

“Alive?” the woman asked. Cal and Nuktik were already moving in.

“Some of 'em, maybe...” the man shouting glanced at them as they passed, then back to his commanders, not sure what he should do.

Caluqtiq held Nuktik back, stepping into the blacked building first. It was a bar or tavern, and not as damaged as the smoke would've made her believe. A few of the personnel had flashlights, some helping the firebenders deal with remaining hot spots, while others shone down on the still forms on the floor.

“Mom!” Nuktik shouted, rushing past her toward one.

Lord Zuko.

Cal gasped, then choked on the air, her eyes watering as she stumbled further into the building. If Lord Zuko was here, then Tenzin...

She caught a glimpse of yellow robes, letting her knees buckle as she got close enough. There was blood on the airbender's stomach, running through fingers clasped there. His eyes were closed, and his beard was half singed away.

The water they had may not be clean, but none of it was in this town, and they had to act quickly. She streamed it over the wound, into and through his robe, underneath him into the pooled blood on the floor. The water began to glow as she attuned it to Tenzin's body, hoping he was still breathing, not daring to check.

“You!” the officer outside yelled. “Stop!”

“Get down!”

More shouts. Gunshots rang out.

Caluqtiq hissed, letting the water fall and diving toward her son. “Come on!”

“But Zuko—”

She grabbed his arm, crouching low as she dragged him behind the bar. Bullets splintered wood around them, and gouts of flame lit the air outside.

As soon as they had cover, she gave her son a quick pat down, making sure nothing hit him. He was sobbing. “Lord Zuko...”

“I know, I know!” She held him to her, waiting for the fighting to subside. The Fire Nation troops that had been with them had either taken cover or joined the fighting. Except for the one who had been hit, his flashlight abandoned on the floor, shining against Zuko and Tenzin's still faces.

Caluqtiq wanted to take a deep breath, still her pounding heart, but she would just make herself cough more. “Okay, Nuktik, here's what we're going to do. We're going to stay low. Right? That's the most important thing, stay behind this bar. Alright?”

A trio of close shots shattered glasses on the shelves nearby. “Stay low,” he said, his eyes wide and bloodshot. “Yeah. Okay.”

She winced as she got on her knees, peering at their friends. “Okay, I know I dropped my water beneath Tenzin. You left some under Zuko, too. We need to use that to move them to us.”

“It's... mine's all mixed with blood.”

“Then we'll have to bend that.”

Somehow, his eyes went wider. “But—”

“I know, I know, I know...” she said, whispered, pulling him into a stifling hug. “I know. This is scary, and I don't know what's going to happen. But you were right. We need to help. And that means sliding them over here. Are you ready to help me?”

He coughed, covering his mouth with his sleeve, but he nodded.

“What was the first rule, though?”

“Stay low.”

“That's right.” She put a hand on his cheek, fingers stroking his hair. “I love you, Nuktik.”

His eyes glistened. “Sh-should we do Lord Zuko first? He's closer.”

She peeked from their hiding spot. “Yeah. I'll pool as much as I can, you make an ice sheet. We'll move it together. Gently.”

Progress was grueling, with their bending forms constrained into such a tight space, but the fighting outside didn't seem to stop. Zuko came closer, close enough to touch, but they slid him all the way against the wall. They needed room for Tenzin and the three others on the floor.

“Do you think you can get Tenzin yourself?” she asked. “I'll start healing Zuko.”

Nuktik nodded, concentrating. They switched places, so he could peer just barely out of cover. She hated the risk, but she was protecting him another way:

He wouldn't be the one doing the healing. He wouldn't be the one who might fail.

She bent some water from behind the bar—hopefully mostly water—and began examining the former Fire Lord. He was disturbingly still, two round red holes in his chest and a trail of blood flowing out the corner of his mouth.

He wasn't breathing, but that didn't make it hopeless. Waterbending healing had cured much worse. Much worse. Master Katara had brought Avatar Aang back to life. She just had to fix what was wrong.

And keep her son safe. While under fire.

At least they were in a bar, because she was going to need a drink.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Hours passed. The sun had set, but low fires and periodic flashes of gunshots lit the night. Tenzin and Zuko and one of the others were all breathing, but were still unconscious. Smoke inhalation, shock, maybe even contamination in some of the water she'd used to heal them... whatever it was, taking this long to wake up was a bad sign.

Nuktik had spent some time crying. She didn't blame him one bit—there'd been points where she was trembling on the precipice herself. But he was all cried out, staring raggedly out into the night.

They'd have to venture out at some point. They needed food. They were well out of water, and she wanted to get their patients somewhere she could treat them properly. She'd been in such a rush to heal them at all, she should have taken time to purify the water first... she'd stabilized them, but Tenzin's breath was raspy and Zuko's was too fast.

Slowly, hesitantly, she stood, bracing herself on the wall as blood rushed back into her legs. “Nuktik, stay here. Watch over them. I'm going to have a look outside.”

Nuktik nodded, eyes resolute. She bit her lip. How his father refused to accept the bravest, noblest boy in the world, she'd never know, never forgive.

“You've got that sentimental look,” her son chided. “Go on. I've got this.”

“Right,” she chuckled, stepping over the prone forms beside the bar. Whatever was going on out there seemed to have moved into another block...

There was a flash, then the ground itself rumbled and the air roared. Something, somewhere nearby, had exploded. Shouts and cheers erupted in response.

Caluqtiq took a deep breath, hands quivering as she continued toward the ruined doorway. She peered into the night, the almost eerie stillness of this street compared to the tumult throughout the town.

She licked her lips, feeling the emptiness in their gut. At the very least, they needed food and water. The fight couldn't go on forever, either way, but better to stay hidden until one side or the other won. But Tenzin and Zuko might not have that long.

“It seems quiet at the moment. I'm going to try to find some supplies. Keep out of sight.”

“Mom?”

She paused inside the door, waiting.

“I'm really proud of you, too. Please come back.”

She breathed, nodded, and left.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Lord Zuko groaned a few minutes after Mom left. Nuktik was at his side in an instant, any awe for the old man forgotten as he checked his temperature. Way too high—or was that a firebender thing? Nobody ever said anything about that, in healing classes.

The groan lead to coughing, led to consciousness. From the look on his face, it wasn't an improvement.

“Stay still,” Nuktik said, hand at first moving to smooth Zuko's silver hair, but, thinking the better of it, squeezing his shoulder instead. “You're hurt.”

Zuko coughed again. “I can feel that. Tenzin?”

“Also hurt. Something bad is happening out there, the army and the workers are fighting.”

The old Fire Lord shook his head. “No...” he whispered, face turned toward the door, toward the firelight outside.

That wasn't something he should let Zuko focus on. “Lord Zuko, can I ask your advice?”

In spite of his obvious pain, he gave a wry chuckle, which devolved into a hacking fit. “Anything I can do to help.”

“I... never mind. It's probably something you don't want to talk about.” He should think of something different, his questions might make him feel even worse.

“Hey,” Lord Zuko said, his arm reaching up weakly, brushing his leg. “I can use the distraction.”

Nuktik sighed, not convinced, but considering Zuko's past, maybe he could help. “My dad hates me.”

“Ah,” Zuko said.

Nuktik blinked. “You're not going to say that can't be true? Or try to argue about it?”

Zuko shook his head. “No. I'm not. Most people can't—” he coughed, took a deep, rasping breath. Continued: “...can't imagine a parent, disappointed in their child, honestly disliking them. Parents are supposed to love their children, support them in everything... as your mother does. As mine did.”

Nuktik brought his legs up, hugging his knees to his chin. “Dad hates who I am.”

Zuko smiled. “As mine did. It took me a long time to accept it, but I realized that the problem wasn't me. It was him. It always had been. The only problem I had was in trying to be what he wanted.”

The boy's eyes narrowed. “I tried that.” He shook his head. “I won't do it again.”

The old man patted his leg. “Good. You're a good lad.” He hacked again, curling up at the pain of it. “Good lad.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The first three buildings Cal had tried were locked up tightly. She didn't care to knock, and doubted anyone would answer anyhow. The next building wasn't locked as it's entire facade was missing, but she couldn't find anything useful inside. Smithing tools, metal bits, work tables—there had been a barrel of water, but it was tipped over and broken apart. She pulled what moisture she could from the wood and bent it into her water pouch before stepping back out.

“You, there!” someone shouted outside. Flashlights trained on her immediately, making her squint.

She held out her arms. “I'm not part of any of this. My name is Caluqtiq, of the Northern Water Tribe. I'm not a part of this!”

“Stay still!” somebody barked. “Shin, bind her hands.”

She nodded, heart beating hard and eyes ready to pop from her head. Someone stepped over the wreckage of the entryway, a length of rope in his hands. He pulled her arms down, bound her wrists together.

He was wearing a uniform. Military. She didn't know if this was good or bad. “Is there anyone else?” he asked, as he tightened the knot.

“No.” Caluqtiq licked her lips. “Can you tell me what's going on? All I know is, there's been fighting.”

“Right now, we're rounding up everyone. We'll let Taka sort all of you out.”

Boss Taka. His side was winning, then, or at least, controlled this part of the town. “Can I talk to him?”

The soldier snorted. “He's a little busy at the moment.”

“Too busy to talk to one of Lord Zuko's companions?”

“Probably, yeah.” He snugged the knot tight, then shoved her forward. “Let's go.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The wounded soldier, groaned, rousing. Nuktik tensed—there was no water nearby left to bend, if the guy decided to start something. But they couldn't let him make any noise.

“Where am I?” the soldier groaned, holding his head.

“Listen quietly,” Zuko said, the kindliness Nuktik was used to replaced with authority. “I am Lord Zuko. What is your name and rank?”

He tried to sit up, but leaned back dizzily. Nonetheless, he managed a weak salute. “Private Guin, my Lord.”

Zuko coughed. “Good, good.”

“What happened. I... you were at the table, with the people we were supposed to... it's night? I should report in, I—”

“Shhh, shh shh,” Zuko soothed. “Nonsense. It's fair to say I outrank everybody in this town. So I'm naming you my bodyguard for the duration of my stay,” Zuko smiled, then suddenly coughed, holding a hand to his chest. His brow glistened with sweat in the dim light, in spite of the evening chill.

“You're not looking too good,” Nuktik said.

“It's Tenzin I'm worried about,” Zuko said between spasms, nodding at him. “I'm worried about his breathing.”

Nuktik pressed an ear to his chest. “His lungs don't sound good. I think, if they were punctured he'd be dead already, but there's something bad. And his heartbeat is... not great.” He sat back, biting his lip. “We need some water. Clean water.”

“You're in the wrong town for that,” Guin said.

He was in the wrong town, period. “If you're supposed to help us, _help_ us. We can't stay in here forever. This is Avatar Aang's son, we can't let him die here!”

“Private,” Zuko said, touching Nuktik's arm to silence him. “Do you remember your orders, exactly? Why you came into this bar armed to the teeth?”

Guin gulped, looking at the healed-over bullet wound on Zuko's chest, the blood still staining his shirt. “We were supposed to arrest the leaders of this labor group, the ones that were organizing all the problems throughout town. That's it, just arrest them! When they fought back, we had to defend ourselves, and—”

“Shhhh,” Zuko reminded him, a lip over his fingers. He nodded toward the fire-lit smoke outside. “If you couldn't tell, things have gone significantly downhill since then.” He turned his head, examining the room. “We're still in the bar where this all began. Sooner or later, somebody is going to think to check here. I'm not sure it's wise to be present when they do.”

“What?” Guin asked.

“Why not?” Nuktik added. “Mom is coming back soon, she expects us to be here. She—”

“Nuktik. Nuktik, hey...” he squeezed his forearm. “We're in the middle of a war zone being managed by an incompetent. The most dangerous thing in the world is a desperate fool with power, trying to save his own hide.”

“But,” Guin said, “You're... you were the Fire Lord. You're _Zuko_.”

“Yes. And if he could make it look like the 'labor leaders' killed me, that would justify all of this,” he gestured toward the destruction all around them.

“Mom and I,” Nuktik said, before Guin could object, “we overheard a conversation. Boss Taka, he was ordered to arrest someone. He tried to say there'd be consequences, but his boss on the phone told him to do it anyway. We were looking for you and Tenzin to warn you.”

Zuko sighed. “Fools and their money... Guin. I need you to scout the back of this building. We need to find somewhere else to hide, but close enough that we can move Tenzin.”

“I can't... I can't move him by myself.”

“Find me some water,” Nuktik said. “I'm a waterbender.”

“He's the reason you're alive,” Zuko corrected.

“Uh... thanks.”

“So go get him that water he needs.”

Guin nodded, scampering off.

“Quietly!” Zuko rolled his eyes. “I was infiltrating bases as a teenager, don't they teach them stealth anymore?”

Nuktik pressed his hands into his lap. “We can't just leave. Mom will come back for us, she—”

“How long ago did she leave?”

The boy shrugged. “A few hours. I guess.”

Zuko didn't say anything. But his face said everything.

“She's coming back,” Nuktik insisted.

“I'm sure she is,” Zuko said, diplomatically. “But your mother is a capable woman. She'll understand we had to make a... a tactical retreat. Nuktik, they _will_ check here eventually.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do? If you think Boss Taka is just going to... to... to take us out, then how do we get out of this?”

“By not getting captured. We have to make sure it can't be his word against dead peoples'.”

Nuktik shook his head. “I can't believe he's that evil. I just... how can he...”

“Oh, he's not evil. Evil has a goal. Evil you can anticipate. Stupidity, Nuktik, that's a force of nature. You just have to get out of it's way.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Caluqtiq!”

Caluqtiq awoke with a jolt, held up by the two women on either side of her. There were ten of them in the cell, barely room to stand. The woman who'd barked her name glared from the other side of the bars. “That's me.”

“Get up.” The guard unlocked the door, eyeing the other women warily. “Boss Taka wants to see you.”

Finally. Dim daylight streamed through the thin windows—how long had she been here? “I'm coming.”

She stepped over the other women gingerly—not easy, with her hands still bound. The guard grabbed her arm as she reached the door, yanking her out of the cell. The entire block was packed full, with some prisoners shackled to the bars outside the cell for lack of room. Had they arrested the entire town?

The waiting room outside the cell block was similarly full. The officers—were they all military? She didn't know the difference for the Fire Nation—all looked haggard and beaten down. Some had singed uniforms, ash on their skin. One was missing a shoe, hobbling about with a limp.

The officer led her outside, where a light rain did nothing to diminish the smoky haze. A volley of gunshots sounded from the edge of the town, organized and precise, not like the smattering she'd heard constantly throughout the night. A dozen military airships patrolled the sky—they must have carried in reinforcements. Everybody on the street was in uniform or under guard.

Everyone alive, at least.

She forced herself to stay calm, tried not to count the bodies and the blood stains. Nuktik was still alone, huddled behind that bar. Anything could have happened—but no. He was smart. He was fine. He was definitely, definitely fine.

Her guards led her toward Taka's headquarters, but the building itself was a charred ruin. Instead, they led her into a repair garage that had been a few buildings away. As they led her inside, Boss Taka was, predictably, on the telephone.

“Tightly, Sir,” he said. As soon as he saw Caluqtiq, he snapped his fingers, pointing at a folding chair beneath the window. Her guards set her there without ceremony, leaving without a word. “I'm finding out right now. Right now, S... Sir, hold on a damned minute and let me ask! I'll call you back!” He slammed the earpiece back onto the receiver, then slammed the whole thing on the mechanic's desk he'd commandeered. “Asshole,” he muttered, then turned toward her.

“We're not having the best day, are we?” Caluqtiq asked.

“Cut the crap,” Boss Taka said. “Where's Zuko and Tenzin?”

“I never found them before the shooting started,” she said. Wasn't even actually a lie. “What do you want with them?”

“I want to make sure they're safe! What the f... what else do you think I want? Where's your kid?”

Warning signs blared in her head. This town was under tight military control, and apparently everyone currently reported to him—and he was going to try to spin this disaster as much as he could to save his own hide. “We got separated,” she said, cautiously.

“The way you dote on him? Bullshit. Where is he?”

“I don't know!” she shouted, allowing all the stress and fear to come out. Tears, oh yes. No need to _act_ terrified and overwhelmed when she'd been holding so much of it back. “I don't... I was hoping... you'd have him here, when you brought me... but...” Tears overtook her, and she let them.

Whether or not he believed her, Boss Taka clearly had no idea how to respond to a woman crying uncontrollably.

As much as she hated sexism, occasionally it gave her an out.

“Fine, fine, whatever! Say I buy that line. What about the spirit attacks. Can you do anything about them?”

She looked up through bleary eyes. “Spirit attacks?”

“The damned things started rushing the walls in the night. Just a few at a time, so far, but it's the worst we've had yet and we're running low on ammunition. I'm not sure how long we can hold out, and more of them keep coming.

Shock stopped her tears. “You're... you're just killing spirits? How many?!”

Taka slumped into a metal chair by the desk, massaging his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I dunno. A few dozen so far? We've had to settle for keeping the striking workers contained while we deal with that. What a damned mess. Can you do anything?”

“Can I... why do you think they're attacking?! You've got bodies in the streets! My son could be one of them! And why? So some voice on the phone can make higher profits?”

“Mr. Hong pays for everything in Kuodan—”

“Is he going to pay for the dead?!”

He slammed his hands against the table top. “That wasn't my fault! Anarchists took over the work force, tried to take over the town. This was a terrorist insurrection, like Ba Sing Se. We had to put it down.”

Caluqtiq found herself laughing, not even sure why. “Terrorist insurrection? Are you out of your mind? Is that really the story you're going with?”

“That's what happened,” he said through gritted teeth. “And reports say Zuko and Tenzin were there conspiring with them.”

Her laughter returned—both for the ridiculousness of that claim, and because she was terrified that they hadn't bothered to check the bar where this had all started yet—or that they had. “And what, are the spirits terrorists too?”

“You're hysterical.”

“Hysterical?” she screamed, laughing harder. “Maybe I am! Maybe I should be! Give me one damned reason to stay calm!”

“We haven't found your son yet,” he said. “Alive or dead.”

The laughter turned into sobs. She leaned against the wall behind her.

What was she supposed to do?

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Nuktik awoke to discover he had slept. His neck was sore in spite of the rice bag beneath his head; so were his eyes and his lungs and his knees and...

That inventory wasn't worth continuing.

“Good morning,” Zuko rasped, his mouth sounding dry.

“Why'd you let me sleep?” Nuktik asked, rubbing his eyes.

“You needed to rest,” he said, distantly. “A man needs his rest.”

Private Guin had found a half-destroyed building, accessible from the back door of the bar. The building had a mostly-intact pantry, and a little clever waterbending once they were inside made it look like a fully-destroyed building, enough to give them cover while they figured out what to do.

Tenzin still wasn't awake.

In the daylight that filtered through the debris, the old airbender looked even worse. Half of his face was an angry red, blistering around one ear. Misting rain had made the whole structure soggy, but not enough to drip through, much less give him a pool of clean water to use. He was able to bend that problem away, at least.

Zuko startled him with a cough, burying his face in his arm.

Guin winced. “We can't hide very well like that. If anyone walks by...”

Zuko nodded, straining to suppress his hacking.

Nuktik put them out of his mind, flowing rainwater from every crack in their shelter until he had enough to surround Tenzin's whole body. Zuko, still coughing, scooted back, giving his arms room to move.

He shouldn't have slept. He should've treated Tenzin earlier—one lung was collapsed, and the other... how had he been getting enough air this whole time? And what could he do about it now? His outer body was healed, pushing into Tenzin with the water would be incredibly invasive, and he barely even understood the concept. He'd never healed something this deep or this severe before.

It needed to be his mother.

“How is he doing?” Guin asked, eyes darting between Nuktik and his patient. The man was worried he might have killed one of the most important men in the world. At this point, he might've.

Nuktik shook his head. “I'm not sure how he's still alive. He shouldn't be getting enough air.”

Zuko had gone red in the face, but finally managed to suppress his coughs. “Airbender,” he strained.

Of course! Tenzin's body was trying to keep itself alive—naturally it would use everything it could. “Well, that may give us a little more time, but I still can't handle this. Not alone. We _need_ to find my mother.”

“I'll go,” Guin said.

Zuko shook his head, but Guin leaned forward. “You're nearly as hurt as Tenzin, and would the kid know where to look? So long as nobody from my unit sees me, I should be able to move about the town. I'll find some paper, pretend I'm delivering a message. Nobody bothers you if you look like you're busy.”

Zuko looked skeptical.

“Let him help,” Nuktik said. “Don't you see? He wants to fix it.”

Guin's head hung low, but he nodded.

It took some obvious effort, but Zuko swallowed. “Need a plan. Doesn't know what she looks like.”

Guin sat on his haunches, running his hands through his hair. “Well, then... okay, we're hiding from Boss Taka, right? We're afraid of what he'll do. Then, we just have to go to someone else. Let a lot of people know you're alive.”

Zuko lurched forward, grabbing his arm. “Trust,” he said. “Someone... trust.”

The soldier looked at Lord Zuko, disbelief on his face. Their eyes met, and he nodded, slowly. “Alright,” he said. “You've got food and water at least. I'll do what I can.” He turned toward Nuktik. “Stay safe, little man. Keep... keep Tenzin alive.”

“I will,” Nuktik murmured.

The soldier nodded, got onto his belly, and slid out the thin gap they'd left themselves. With his eye to a crevice in the wall, Nuktik could see him stand on the other side, dust himself off, and walk purposefully into the town.

That just left him and Lord Zuko, with Tenzin fighting for his life.

Zuko coughed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But... what happened to Tenzin?! 
> 
> He's right there. Mostly still alive. Yay? 
> 
> This chapter is probably the biggest risk in this whole endeavor, structurally; entirely focused on one plotline, entirely from the perspective of original characters. I'm not 100% thrilled with it, honestly--I love Nuktik and Cal, but I could have explored the setting and conflict brewing within Kuodan far better. Only it would've added another say half-dozen major characters and several chapters and I didn't want to do that, so instead I opted for the 'out of towner's' perspective as everything spirals out of control. The politics and social problems in the background are interesting, and fit the themes of the overall story, but for pacing and my own sanity I couldn't really examine them as deeply as I could've. 
> 
> So, let me know if you think these risks paid off! 
> 
> So, now that this plotline is caught up... some slightly bad news: I started Grad School. Time is an illusion. Which basically means, I won't be able to maintain the strict weekly update schedule I have been. I have a bit of a buffer built up, and a good idea of the trajectory of the next chapter or two, should I find time to work on them; but rather than speed through and slam into a wall, I'm going to take my foot off the gas a little, as it were, and shift to posting every two weeks. If I get a chance to make progress and finish--from where I'm writing, there's maybe 5-7 chapters left, I think--I may speed that back up. And hey, maybe this'll give you all more time to process the chapters? Tell your friends about it? Comment on it, should the inclination strike you? 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	15. Storm

_They lay together in a field, their heads side by side but their bodies stretched away from each other. Korra had one arm bent to cradle Asami's head, fingers stroking her shoulder. Asami had slept on beds less comfortable than the grass beneath them—it was one of the most soothing, peaceful moments of her life._

_Except 'Korra' and 'bed' existing in such close proximity in her thoughts began to send Asami's mind in a decidedly unpeaceful direction._

“ _I wonder why the clouds are pink,” Korra mused. “Like, if it rained, would it be pink water? Or like, fruit punch?”_

_Asami laughed, quirking an eyebrow. “Fruit punch?”_

“ _Don't act like it's impossible, Miss Egg Bush.”_

_Korra's hand crept closer to her face. She nestled her cheek against it and didn't argue. “Well, I hope it's not. That sounds rather sticky.”_

_Korra snickered, rolling herself closer, so their temples touched. “I love the clouds here, and in Republic City. The ones back home, they're wispy or stormy, you never get the big puffy ones that look like shapes. I remember once, Mako and I were out and I saw one that looked like an otter penguin...”_

_She tilted her head to nudge Korra's. “Was that the whole story?”_

“ _No, it's just... the Mako thing.”_

_Asami rolled onto her side, one arm supporting her head. “Mako's a dear friend, but I'm not in love with him. Are you?”_

_Korra shook her head quickly. “We proved pretty firmly that didn't work. And besides... so much has happened since then. I know... a bit more about myself than I did at seventeen.”_

“ _Then there is no Mako thing.” She bent over, kissing her upside-down. The angle was odd, but she also got a close view of Korra's chest while doing it. There were possibilities in that, oh yes. And all around them, flowers bloomed among the grass, almost glowing as she deepened the kiss._

“ _Oh!” Korra said, startling Asami onto her back. “Look!” She pointed skyward._

_There was a cloud right above them that looked exactly like an otter penguin._

“ _Yeah, I see it.” Asami crossed her arms. On the one hand, it was a funny coincidence, and the shape was distinct. On the other hand, she didn't like her kissing being upstaged by a_ cloud _._

“ _Sorry,” Korra said, and Asami turned to see her blushing. “But you have to admit, it's_ definitely _an otter penguin._

_Asami looked at her, at those wide blue eyes, wiser than they'd began but shining again like they once had, and sighed happily. “I can't stay mad when you're being adorable. Let me know if you spot any Satomobiles.”_

“ _Hah, that would be a pretty complicated cloud.”_

_Come to think of it, water and airbenders could manipulate the shapes of clouds. Perhaps she could hire some to create Satomobile clouds, over sporting events? It would make for wonderful, distinct advertisement, not lasting of course but memorable which was far more important in reaching the consumer—_

“ _'sami?”_

“ _Hmm?”_

“ _Hi.”_

_Whoops. “You caught me scheming. Sorry.”_

“ _It's alright. You furrow your brow in the most adorable way...”_

“ _My brow.”_

“ _Yup. Right here.” She kissed Asami's forehead. “That's how I know you're brain has shifted into high gear. That's a car reference.”_

“ _Yeah, I caught that.”_

“ _Just for you.”_

“ _I...” she glanced at the sky, then turned her head. “Korra.”_

“ _Hmm?” The Avatar was staring at her._

_Asami pointed at the sky._

_Directly above them, upside-down from Asami's perspective, was a cloud that was_ clearly _a Satomobile._

“ _Are you doing that on purpose?” Asami asked._

 _Korra shook her head. “No. At least, I don't think so? I wasn't even looking at the clouds, but you put the idea in my head. The Spirit World_ does _react to me. To everybody, really, but especially to the Avatar.”_

“ _So, I can watch the clouds to see what's on your mind?” Asami asked, intentionally furrowing her brow, and touching her chin thoughtfully besides._

“ _Oh, no. No no no, not fair.”_

_Asami snickered. “Why not?”_

“ _What if... what if I'm thinking about things you don't want me thinking about!?”_

“ _That might depend on what sorts of things.”_

“ _Spirits could see!”_

“ _Ah,_ those _sort of things,” Asami purred._

_Korra blushed. “Shut uuup!”_

_Asami swept her arm around them. “It's not like there's actually any spirits around. And I'm pretty sure my clouds would show you the same.”_

_Korra sat up, eyes wide. “There's no spirits around.”_

_She tilted her head back to watch her. “Yeah. We talked about that. You said they're normally all over, but this time they're not.” She'd also said it wasn't Asami's fault, but what else could it be? Maybe she was just too non-spiritual. Maybe she'd been exposed to something in the spirit weapon blast... but no, Korra would have been too—_

“ _It's me. They're not here because of me.”_

_Asami rolled onto her front, crawling beside Korra. “That doesn't make sense. You said you encountered them all over all the times you were here before.”_

“ _Right. But I wasn't here with you, then.”_

 _Well. That was blunt. “So it_ is _me.”_

“ _What? No...” Korra growled at herself, putting an arm around Asami's shoulder to guide into a sitting position, then taking her hand. “It's not you. It's the fact that you're_ with _me. The Spirit World reacts to my presence, often in ways I'm not really aware of. The spirits aren't avoiding us, they're_ leaving us alone _.”_

 _Asami's lips spread in a wide grin. Her cheeks flushed as she nuzzled into Korra's hair. “So, when you said 'just the two of us,' you_ really _meant it.”_

“ _Apparently!” Korra chuckled._

_Asami sucked in her lower lip, looking Korra up and down as she processed. “So, then there would really be nobody to interrupt us if...”_

_Korra coughed. “Interrupt, maybe not, but doesn't mean nobody's watching. A little light spirit found me when I was looking for you, and said as much.”_

_She used her nose to push Korra's hair from her ear, kissing the skin beneath. “Spirits can come and go in our world now too. They're probably watching all the time.”_

“ _That doesn't exactly help,” Korra answered._

_Asami paused. Korra's breathing was heavy, her body was responding... but it was also stiff. “Are you okay?”_

“ _What? Yeah, of course I'm okay! I—”_

 _Asami pressed her fingers to Korra's lips. “Being with you, watching you, it's given me... ideas. Things I'd like to do. Things I'd like_ us _to do.”_

“ _W...what kinds of things...”_

“ _Sex, Korra. Obviously sex.”_

_Korra, surprisingly, didn't blush. She looked down, thinking furiously._

_Asami put a hand on her shoulder, softly. “You don't want to.”_

“ _I_ do _! I just... here doesn't feel...”_

“ _It's okay,” Asami said, laughing kindly. “It's okay, Korra. Really. It's no good if we're not both feeling it. Another time?”_

_Korra nodded enthusiastically._

“ _Good,” Asami said, kissing her fingers. “Now, let's lay back down and...”_

_She saw the clouds._

“ _Oh. Oh my.”_

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The ferry to Air Temple Island was uncharacteristically crowded, in spite of the building rain. Most of the people from Raiko's meeting had come from there this morning, after all.

Korra stood with Asami at the bow, their arms around each other in a waterbent dry bubble, watching the island as they approached it. Worried about the man who called it home. Worried about each other. Worried about the world.

“Why does everything have to happen all at once?” Korra asked. “Can't these things like, take a number or something?”

“Perhaps if you had a secretary to schedule them for you?” Asami joked.

Neither of them smiled.

“So, you're taking Tonraq and Eska, at least,” Asami said. “An air bison can seat eight comfortably.”

“We need room for Tenzin and Zuko and the waterbenders, too,” Korra said. “And Tenzin's huge.”

“Right... so other tiny people like you and your cousin then.”

“Hey!”

Asami nuzzled her nose beneath Korra's ear, and was instantly forgiven. Her breath was warm against her neck. “Bolin and Opal?”

“Bolin yeah, but I was thinking maybe Opal with you.”

“Why? Just to make sure that none of the couples are together if we can't be?”

Low thunder rumbled well out over the bay. “I... was more thinking that I'd rather have Kai along, since Jinora can find him like _that_.” She snapped her fingers. “You need as many strong airbenders as you can get, and if I let any airbender that wants to come along come, I'll have all of them.”

“So, you're not taking Bumi then? He won't be happy with that.”

“Probably not. But he's huge too, and my dad already takes the space of like, three people. Besides, Commander Bumi will be useful to make sure all the precision your plan needs works out.”

Asami nodded against her. “I'm sorry about last night.”

She turned, stretching up to kiss her forehead. “Don't be.”

“You shouldn't have had to come home to me being a mess like that, I—”

“Asami,” Korra scolded. “I love you. You were in a bad spot. Spirits know you've been there for me through worse.”

“But I put myself there.”

“And none of my problems were even slightly my own fault?”

“Eeehhhh...”

Korra snickered. “Exactly.”

Asami laughed, her head turning backwards. She stiffened. “Oh. Hello, Tonraq.”

Korra turned, blinking. He was leaning against the railing, watching them, smiling quietly, letting the rain soak him. “Dad. How long have you been there?”

“A while. You two were having a moment, I didn't want to interrupt.”

“Teach that one to Tenzin,” Korra said without thinking, then winced, looking down at the deck. “Because... because he's definitely okay, and needs to be broken of his uncanny ability to interrupt us.”

Dad stepped forward, putting one hand on Korra's cheek, and the other on Asami's shoulder. “Tenzin may put off a peaceful air, but he's a strong and durable man. It took all four of the Red Lotus to catch him, and we never have to worry about them again.”

Korra nodded. Asami's hand found hers, giving it a squeeze. She squeezed back.

Dad, of course, noticed, and smiled. He turned toward Asami. “And I'm very happy to be welcoming you to the family, Miss Sato. Senna and I couldn't be happier.”

Asami smiled, pushing hair out of her eyes. “Thank you, Tonraq. But it's all very new, still. It's not like we're married yet.”

Korra blinked, and felt Asami freeze. Their eyes met. 'Yet?' she mouthed.

Asami's cheeks turned just a little pinker. “Okay, maybe I've been secretly dating you in my mind for three years but regardless—”

Dad yanked them both off their feet into a titanic hug. “I can't wait,” he said, then set them down to collect themselves. He looked at Asami as she flipped her hair back out of her face. “Anyone who can fluster you like that is worth keeping. I'd tell you not to worry, but I know how impossible that is when Korra's off on a mission. But you know I'll do anything to keep her safe.”

Her girlfriend nodded back, slowly, chuckling at the hug wet swathe he'd left on her clothes. “You'd better. You may be twice my size and a world-class waterbender and have an army at your disposal, but I'm still pretty sure I can take you.”

Korra snickered. Dad beamed, turning toward her. “Don't you dare let this one get away, you hear me young lady?”

She made as ridiculously serious of a face as she could, and saluted. “Yes, Sir, Chief Tonraq.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Opal kissed Bolin's shoulder. The whole previous day had been such an emotional hurricane, and Bolin was having trouble working through it. The rain pattering on the roof did nothing to calm his nerves. “Ready to talk about it yet?”

He shrugged, patting her hand on his forearm. “I guess. I just... maybe it makes sense? We've fought the Triads before, they're super dangerous even for a bender. Being able to fight them from a safe distance... But _seeing_ it. Blood just kinda, exploded out this guys back, like _pkyew_.” He made a bursting motion with his hands.

She rested her chin by his neck, wrapping her arms around him. “Well, maybe she didn't mean to hurt him that bad? It's a new invention after all.”

“It's _Asami_. She _always_ knows exactly what she's doing. I mean, it's crazy how much control she has all the time. I've never seen her take a hit, not once.”

“Yeah, because you're always fighting benders and if she _had_ taken a hit...”

“I know, I know!” Bolin raised his arms, then let them flop, uselessly on the bed beside him. Pabu hopped up on his lap, and Bolin started petting him absently. “But she's normally so sweet and always thinking of other people. It's just hard to reconcile that with someone... someone who can...”

“Take a life?”

Bolin nodded.

Opal thought of all their lunches together, the couple of shopping trips she'd managed to pull Asami away from work for. The kindness was there, the efficiency, too. But she'd always gotten the impression of something quiet, underneath. Calculation, constant calculation. “I get it.”

“You do?” Bolin asked, surprised.

She stretched her neck to kiss his chin. “Sure. She's loving and compassionate and loyal and protective, and the people she loves are always getting into insane kinds of trouble. Heck, if I hadn't gotten my airbending, I might want one of those rifles of hers myself.”

“Opal...” he shifted away.

“No, Bolin, listen. I lived most of my life as a nonbender, and it really _is_ just different. Your opinion is never quite as important, you're just that much easier to dismiss... Even in Zaofu, where everything is supposed to be egalitarian. You know what protocol was, if a non-bending guard saw a crime or anything? Call the benders. Didn't matter what it was, how mundane. A lot of them would try to catch the bad guy themselves, and half the time they managed they still got scolded for it.”

“That doesn't seem fair.”

Opal pressed her lips together, nodding 'yeah, that's my point.'

“So... Asami made these things because she wants to be a bender?”

She rolled her eyes. “No. I think she's actually pretty proud of what she's done, as a non-bender. But she's also well aware of how fragile she is. And how fragile _Korra_ is, Avatar or no. And maybe if she's around and Korra gets in another Avatar-class fight, she wants to be able to do more than just...”

“...go get the benders,” Bolin finished, nodding understanding.

She scooted forward, kicking her legs off the bed to sit beside him. “Knowing that doesn't make it any easier to think about, though, does it?”

He sighed. “No, not really.”

Opal pulled him into a big hug from the side. “Okay then. Do you want me to comfort you, or... distract you?”

“Ummmmm...” he said, drawing the syllable.

“We _are_ going into danger soon...” she said batting her eyes at him.

“Uhhhhhh....” C'mon, honey. Distract! Distract! Pick distract! “Di...stract?”

She threw up her arms. “Yay!” Then she tackled him back onto the bed.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Wing had expected tension and danger on this trip, but not quite so much weird cute drama playing out around him.

“So what do we think Torru's plan is?” Tsu Ying asked, sitting with her helmet by the door, 'forcing' her closer to Mako. “Disrupt the convention?”

“We've known his plan all along,” Mako replied. “You saw what he was preaching back in Zaofu. Only he might find a bigger audience in Ba Sing Se. But now, we know he already has people on the outside.”

“They're not really _his_ people, though,” Wu said, his arms crossed on the side of the jeep and his head resting on them. He had to shout to be heard, but he seemed loathe to look at the back seat, where Mako was sitting all aloof and stoic and maybe just a little dreamy with the wind in his hair. “They're part of the same, I dunno, movement?”

Young and frivolous as he seemed, Wu did actually have a surprising amount of insight, when he wasn't distracting himself with his own personality.

“Right, it's spreading across the countryside where there isn't much resistance,” Mako said. “Everybody's focused on Ba Sing Se and Zaofu, so something like this can build up without anybody noticing right away.”

Tsu Ying sat in the center of the rear bench seat and coincidentally closer to the man Wu was trying not to look at. “But if one of them _starts_ something in Ba Sing Se, and suddenly half the people out there already agree with them...”

“They could try to take over the whole country,” Wu said, straightening in his seat. “All these farming towns sharing everything is one thing, but big wealthy cities? I don't think the people there are going to want to share.”

Mako crossed his arms. “That's... not how Zaheer operated though. He wanted to get rid of leaders, not supplant them.”

“Zaheer's in prison,” Tsu Ying sneered. “There are obviously more Red Lotus leaders out there who don't see things quite the same way.”

“Who, though?” Wing asked. He hadn't taken part much in these conversations, but something just wasn't making sense. “Yeah, Zaheer and his cronies were bad, and Mom still kicks things whenever someone brings up Aiwei, but who's pulling the strings behind all this? It's not like Torru ever mentioned Zaheer or that airbender guru or whoever. There wasn't a leader in Guanlin, they had a town council. That's the way they said Lao is doing it, and that's what's spreading.”

“Maybe...” Mako pondered. “A few months ago, I went with Korra when she went to see Zaheer. Kuvira was a mutual enemy, so he helped Korra meditate into the Spirit World.”

“ _What_?” Tsu Ying hissed. “That's how he was communicating with Aiwei and his other minions!”

Wu laughed to himself. “Minions. Funny word. Minions.”

“Wu, be serious!” Mako scolded.

Wing watched him deflate from the corner of his eye. He was just looking for camaraderie from his 'best pal.' Jealous of the attention he wasn't getting anymore. Didn't even seem to realize he was infatuated, the poor sap. It was sad enough to see somebody pining for someone they had no chance with, but for them not to even realize they're doing it?

Hadn't Opal said something about some awful love triangle between Mako, Korra, and Asami? How did the man keep getting mixed up in these things?

“It still doesn't make sense though,” Tsu Ying said. “I mean, I'm all for putting Zaheer's head on a pike on principle, but everything we've seen of this... what did we call it? Red Lotus movement? It's been decentralized. Not that many people can meditate into the Spirit World.”

“It doesn't need to be many people,” Mako said. “Maybe just a few like Torru. But even if he isn't in cahoots with Zaheer, we _have_ to stop him before he gets to Ba Sing Se. The Earth territories have suffered enough.”

“You really do care about the people, don't you, Mako?” Wu sighed.

“Well, yeah,” Mako said, frowning at his weird tone.

This was ridiculous. The back seat was taking care of itself, but somebody had to take Wu out of his misery. Wing might not be able to raise the siege on Zaofu, or stop the Red Lotus, but this problem might just be within his realm of expertise.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

As Asami and the others arrived in the Air Temple, she'd already composed a list of priorities she needed to take care of. Time was short, so she set to work.

Korra's mom and Pema were sitting at the table. Senna rose to greet her.

“Asami,” she smiled warmly, pulling her into a hug.

She returned it, quickly. “Senna, I love your daughter to bits. I know you know that but I felt I should say it directly.”

Senna laughed, eyeing Korra over Asami's shoulder. “Tell me directly? We're going to get along famously, Miss Sato.” The words were a clear jab at her daughter, but lacked any real bite.

Asami smiled. “I hope so. But could I have a minute?” She desperately wanted to talk to Senna, for hours and hours if she could, and that wasn't the most elegant segue in her life. But Senna would understand.

“Oh, certainly,” Senna said, stepping away curiously.

Asami moved to sit on Pema's other side. “Are _you_ okay?”

Pema smiled weakly. “I'm... I'm fine, dear. Thank you for—”

She tilted her head forward, a hand on Pema's shoulder. “The kids aren't here,” she said softly. “Everyone here has been where you are. And you've always been there, for us, when we needed it. I'm sure you've been cooking up a storm and making sure everyone else is taken care of. Tenzin may be the leader of the Air Nation, but you've always been it's heart, and I don't think we appreciate that enough. Just... know that we're all here for you, like you've been here for us.”

Pema's lips were quivering. “I...” Senna put her hand on her other shoulder, smiling encouragement. Both women collected her in a hug as the tears started. Slowly, at first, against trembling resistance, before she finally crumbled. Asami and Senna held her, murmuring soft support all the while.

There were tons of logistical things that needed to be sorted out. But people had to come first.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Jinora was making good progress. In fact, she allowed herself to feel a trifle smug.

Where the Southerners had spent the last several years building a road from Harbor City to their portal, the Northerners had left theirs essentially in the wilderness. Closer to their capital in strict distance, but a much harder trip. Keeping the fort supplied was an expensive proposition, and they'd just found out the day before a freak storm had made the way impassable. Rations were getting tight.

So, Jinora had visited the Southerners, and appealed to their basic decency. They may not be your countrymen anymore, but they're still your brothers. They weren't about to stand by and watch them starve, were they?

Honestly, a few of the Southerners were ready to, but the guy in charge, at least, saw what Jinora was trying to do. He returned to the Northern fort with Jinora, half a dozen packmen, and a week's worth of food. The grateful Northerners had invited the Southerners to dine with them, and shared some of the alcohol that they'd somehow thought to pack way more of than food.

It hadn't fixed anything, but the two sides were talking, and laughing. Air Nation diplomacy at it's finest.

Still, she waited until the Southerners had left to return to her quarters to meditate. The better sides of their natures might prevail in the end, but still, better to watch.

Jinora yawned, clearing her head. She briefly considered taking a nap or leaving her report for morning, but it was better to stay in the loop. They might have negotiation times planned, after all. Legs crossed, muscles relaxed, loose fists pressed together, she meditated, and projected home.

She appeared in the meeting room, actually standing inside of someone. Awkward, but it happened sometimes. Shifting back, she saw Korra and her father there, casting worried looks into the dining room as air acolytes and White Lotus people scampered about to orders Bumi was barking outside. “What's going on?” Jinora asked with a frown.

“Jinora!” Korra met her gaze, her eyes afraid. “Finally, we've been waiting for you.”

Korra said that, but she looked like the conversation was going to make her sick. Jinora peeked around her, and saw her mother sobbing at the kitchen table. “What's wrong?”

“It's... it's Tenzin. His mission to the Fire Nation went bad, there was some sort of revolt. We don't have a ton of information, but—”

“I'm checking,” Jinora said, and disappeared.

Finding a person in an unfamiliar setting wasn't the easiest thing in the world, and all the harder the further away they were. But when she had somebody she was familiar with to hone in on, it became far easier—and there couldn't be anyone she was more spiritually in-tune with than her father.

If only her heart would stop pounding. She needed to be calm, to concentrate. Even for her, spirit projection wasn't the easiest thing, and if she couldn't get into the right mindset...

That look of fear in Korra's eyes. Her mother, crying at the table, Asami and Senna at her side.

Her own eyes ached. This couldn't be—

No, Jinora! No. Cry later, if you have to. Korra said we don't have much information. They'd been waiting for you. This is why. Concentrate. Detach yourself. Leave the fear and grief. Leave it.

She remembered how proud he'd been, standing above her at her Mastery ceremony—

LEAVE IT!

Jinora trembled. Yelling at herself. Even in her mind, that was not the way an airbending master behaved. That was not enlightened. It certainly wasn't at peace. She'd earned her tattoos. Now she had to prove, again, that she deserved them.

She took a deep breath. Felt the cool air in her lungs, the energy from it spreading through her veins. Her muscles relaxed, one after another, and the world around her fell away.

Good, a voice inside her said. Her father's.

The tension rushed back. She willed it back, taking another breath. How many times had she done this, before?

She could do this. She thought it again, in her own voice: she could do this. She was strong, and her father needed her.

Minute by minute, muscle by muscle, thought by thought, Jinora calmed herself. A process that she could normally complete in a few dozen breaths must've taken an hour—or maybe a year. Time, too, was detached. An illusion, like her emotions, like her body. Only her spirit was real.

And it was going to find her father.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

It was either luck or providence that had lead Kuvira to stumble into one of her army's advance scouts. Weak as she was, she couldn't cover much territory by herself. Putting herself in Nyota's mindset gave her an inkling of where he would be hiding—a highly defensible pass in the mountains north of Zaofu—but the man knew his business, and if he wanted the army to go unseen, it could have taken weeks for her to find it.

Naturally, her scouts were under strict radio silence. Her arrival at the camp would be a surprise to everyone there—which may be for the best. Nyota was loyal, or at the least, not foolish enough to think himself more capable of extricating him from this situation than she was. But having some time to familiarize herself with the situation before addressing the troops—as well as a proper uniform—would definitely be better than dragging herself in into camp in blood-stained prison garb.

Though the impact of that could be helpful as well. She'd told the story to her scouts, and they knew none of the blood was hers. Let that spread throughout the camp, and the men know how much power she still held, and they would follow her into death.

At last, she was led into Nyota's tent. He was standing over a map, ruminating as she let herself in, unannounced. He recognized her instantly, and somehow, did not seem surprised. Steady man. “Empress.”

“General,” she greeted. He'd been a Colonel, when she'd left. He was ambitious, as she'd told Su, but not prone to overreach. “You have done well.”

He nodded, accepting the tacit approval of his new rank. “And you have done... better than I'd heard, at any rate.”

“Your force is intact?”

“Entirely. If not larger. Revolts in smaller, neighboring states drove off some of our troops. I gathered as many as I could here. Would you...” he gave her a second, assessing look, “like something to eat?”

She allowed herself a smile. “Please. And somewhere to sit.”

Strict professionalism gave way to camaraderie as he led her to a camp stool by his folding desk. “I'll be right back. Rations are getting tighter, but I'm sure we can find you something.”

“Meat,” she nearly growled. She'd been so ravenous once she'd escaped, she'd caught and eaten as squirrel rabbit raw. It had not been a proud moment. “I'll also need a uniform, an aide-de-camp, and your journals since hearing of Republic City.”

“Of course,” he said, moving to exit.

“And General? You will be needing a new tent.”

He paused in the flap, glancing at her, then away, then back. He nodded. “Of course, Empress. Rightly so.”

“One other question, before you go.”

General Nyota straightened, waiting patiently.

“Why did you cut off Zaofu? The rails, and communication. You are supposed to keep your forces consolidated.”

“I have kept them consolidated, Empress,” he answered. “We haven't interfered with Zaofu at all.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Lin burst into the precinct, scowling as badly as she ever had. Officers scattered at the sight of her, afraid to attract her ire, which might amuse her on another day but she was too focused on shouting at herself. She rattled off her rap sheet:

Going out and getting pass-out drunk.

Letting _someone_ come up to your apartment.

Not realizing said _someone_ unplugged your phone and turned off your alarms because you allowed said _someone_ to get you even more drunk.

And, most damning of all:

Enjoying yourself.

“Uh, good morning, Chief,” somebody dared. She stormed past.

Actually considering calling in sick, like _someone_ suggested.

Allowing herself to forget all the troubles and worries and possible pitfalls and everything that could go wrong and had gone wrong and was in the process of going wrong and just be happy in the moment for the first time in... her life, maybe?

The universe wouldn't take it. Her gut roiled, and she was just sure, just _sure_ there was a disaster in the making.

“Any messages?” she barked at the receptionist.

“Yes,” he said, unfazed by her demeanor. “Several. You should probably call Air Temple Island at once.”

She knew it. The door slammed behind her as she stomped into her office, grabbing her phone. An Air Acolyte answered, and breathlessly filled her in.

“Thank you,” Lin said softly before hanging up the phone.

She stared at her desk for a good minute.

Tenzin.

She picked the phone up again, and called her own apartment. She knew she'd hooked the phone back up, hopefully she was still there...

“Mhello?” Kya asked, groggily.

A small voice wanted to be annoyed she was still in her apartment. Most of her was relieved. She settled into her chair. “Kya. Hey. You ...you'd better get back to the island. Tenzin's in trouble.”

“What?”

“Tenzin. Something happened in the Fire Nation.”

“Is... is he okay?”

“We don't know that. All I know is, Korra is putting together a rescue mission, right now. If you want, I can send a patrol car over to get you to the dock.”

“I... yes, Lin. Thank you. Spirits...”

Lin opened her mouth, took a breath, wanting to say something more. She couldn't think of a thing. “Kya...” she began, but heard rustling on the other side. “Kya?” Footsteps.

She'd set down the phone without hanging up.

Lin sighed, setting the earpiece in the cradle. Her fingers trailed slowly down the side, gravity fighting some magnetic urge not to let go, to stay in some kind of contact.

Tenzin. And now she'd just sent Kya too. And she...

Kya.

She snatched the phone back up, barking orders. Sending the patrol car to her apartment. Checking her departments, the open investigations. The situation with the remaining evacuees, and with the surrendered army. The status of Asami's gunshot victim.

How many personal days she had accrued.

Lin was about to call her second in command when the telephone rang on its own. She lobbed it away, catching it with metalbending before it could hit the wall. “Beifong,” she answered, as soon as it was in her hands.

“Chief,” President Raiko said. “I attempted to contact you earlier, for a meeting this morning.”

Of course he had. “Sorry, Mister President. I assume it was in regards to Master Tenzin's predicament?”

“And the situation in Zaofu, yes.”

Zaofu? Something was wrong in Zaofu, too? The Air Acolyte hadn't mentioned a thing. “I've been appraised. As a matter of fact—”

“I'm ordering you to stay here.”

Lin blinked. Then her eyes narrowed. “ _What_.”

“I know these are people you care about, and I remember how you ran off to save your sister's life a few months ago. But you are the _Chief of Police_ , Lin. We're still recovering from the last crisis and now several more are unfolding as we speak. The Avatar's entire extended family has mobilized itself to handle these situations, but I need you _here_.”

She ground her teeth. “Doing what, sir?”

“Keeping our city safe! All the people who defeated Kuvira's army are about to scatter about the world to solve other problems, but the army they defeated is still camped, under guard, a day's march away. We've still yet to parole them and it's taxing our resources to keep them fed.”

“I know that, sir, but—”

“No buts!” Raiko snapped. “I know you and your friends consider your heroics more important than the rule of law, but I am the democratically elected president of this country! I will not be granting you a leave of absence, I will not turn a blind eye to your sudden absence, and if you resign, I will not allow you to have your job back when you're done doing what you think needs to be done. There is a system in place for a reason, Lin, and you have a part in it.”

“Fine. Sir.” She was ready to rip the phone in half. “Is there anything you'd like me to focus on?”

“Yes. I would like to see more officers trained in the use of Miss Sato's rifles. Possibly even a non-bending unit. I was very impressed with the results from your joint sting operation, and I'd like to pursue those tactics.”

Did he _want_ her to resign? “I will get right on that, Mister President.”

“See that you do.” He hang up on her.

She threw the phone on purpose this time. _And_ she let it hit the wall.

Lin paced viciously across the carpet, cursing up a storm, metalbending the phone from wall to wall. 'There is a system in place for a reason.' That jackass! Maybe she should resign. How much good could she do if he could push her around like that?

Her receptionist knocked, then opened the door. “Chief? Sounds like a fight is going on in here.”

“There is!” She snapped, finally breaking the phone in half and lobbing it into the corner. “Replace that. I have duties to attend to on Air Temple Island.”

“I... see,” he said. “Should I clear your schedule.”

Her knuckles cracked. “No. I'll be back in a few hours.”

He took that in stride. “Alright. We can handle things from here until then. I'll have a car waiting by the time you get downstairs.”

“I can drive myself.”

The receptionist glanced at the wreckage of the telephone. “All the same, I'd feel better if you didn't.”

“Fine,” Lin snapped, mentally noting to put another positive mark in his file when she calmed down. She paused on her way back out the door. “Do we still have files on non-bender recruits?”

“I can dig them up,” he said.

Her eyebrow twitched. “Do it. Sort out the top candidates for me.”

“Will do, Chief.”

She kept herself from sneering until she'd turned away. He hadn't earned that.

Why was it quiet? The entire precinct was hushed, huddled, hiding.

“Get off your butts and get to work!” she shouted. “We have a city to serve, don't we?”

Just like that, the normal bustle and murmur resumed.

Lin folded her arms, watching to make sure it stayed that way. The troops had to know the general was still in charge—which meant she had to be in charge of herself, too.

She would be.

After she got back from the island.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. 
> 
> Grad school is crazy. 
> 
> That said, I did manage to finish a chapter! In fact, I finished a REALLY IMPORTANT chapter that makes sense as a break-point. 
> 
> So, question is: 
> 
> Should I call that chapter 'the end' of this story, and when I get time to write, add a sequel work that continues from that point? 
> 
> (this will make you mad)
> 
> Or
> 
> Should I continue as I had been, poking at the story when I get a chance to, and if time eats my entire buffer of written material away before I finish it, I just lose the schedule and post whenever? 
> 
> (given where the last chapter ends... this will also make you mad) 
> 
> Thoughts? 
> 
> As to this chapter:  
> I'm shocked I haven't ran out of ways for these two to be adorable together in the Spirit World. It's almost like they're just naturally cute and perfect and I could do this forever or something. 
> 
> The present isn't quite as peaceful, but they're still really cute together. I'm so glad they're there for each other and I'm sure nothing bad will interfere with that. 
> 
> Opal's got an interseting perspective on the world, having been on multiple sides of multiple power dynamics. Bolin is lucky to have such a wise lady in his life who is also pretty and likes to do adult things with him.
> 
> How DOES Mako keep getting in these situations?
> 
> I told you all before I like Pema and think she's underappreciated, right? Well. 
> 
> Jinora! You found the plot. Welcome back! 
> 
> What's this? Kuvira's troops aren't the ones mucking about with Zaofu? WHAT THE DIDDLY DOODLY?
> 
> And, finally... this will be the chapter where Kyalin gets added to the tags, methink.


	16. Who We Look To

_Just when life seemed to be going better than ever, it had a way of smacking the smile right off of Korra's face. Again. Like always._

_After realizing why they'd not seen many spirits, Korra made a point of seeking them out. She wanted to be alone with Asami, sure, but she also wanted everyone and everything to know how happy she was. So she kept an eye out, and quickly spotted someone walking toward a thin canyon. The spirit was lumbering and fuzzy, like a koala sloth, but bright green._

“ _Hey! Hey!” Korra said, galloping toward it, tugging Asami with her. “Spirit! Do you have a minute?”_

_The spirit stopped, slowly shambling in place to turn around. “Oh. It's...”_

“ _I'm the Avatar! This is Asami!”_

“ _The. Avatar.”_

_Korra's smile grew brittle. Maybe this wasn't the best spirit to strike up a conversation with._

“ _Do you have a name?” Asami asked politely._

“ _Yes,” smiled the creature. “I. Do. It. Is. Trelllllthhh.”_

_Were the sounds drawn out because it talked slow, or was that actually part of its name?_

_Asami put a hand on her shoulder, instantly calming her down. “Pleased to meet you. We're curious why you were headed to this canyon.”_

_Trelllllthhh looked up, reaching its arms slowly toward the canyon walls. Then the rocks shifted, and—_

“ _Woah!” she breathed, stepping back to watch it rocket upward. It reached the top, sixty feet above them, in seconds, swung onto one side, then glacially turned to wave down at them._

_She spun on her heels toward Asami._

“ _Just be careful,” Asami responded before she even spoke, kissing her quickly._

_Korra, licked her lips, stood between them, reaching her hands out so her fingertips touched both sides at once._

_The stone felt normal. She looked at Asami, who had stepped back to watch. “Maybe it doesn't—”_

_Korra was hurled upward, not like she was yanked or thrown, just suddenly she was_ moving _, and_ fast _. Air tore against her hair and clothes, rippling her cheeks. Without thinking, she drew her arms in, readying herself to bend or whatever she might have to do._

_She flew right past the top of the canyon and just kept going._

_That... probably wasn't great. She didn't have her glider, though bending gave her plenty of ways to land safely, once she slowed down._

_Which she didn't seem to be doing._

_Messing with the Spirit World, she totally should have known better. Maybe it was just a... column of up-ness? She punched an air-jet in front of her, and gravity lurched her insides all at once. She was falling, like normal. The ground, so far below, hardly seemed to be moving yet._

_Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. This was something she could handle, she had no reason to be scared, but a jolt of terror shot up her spine. Nothing was coming for her—other than the ground—but her breath and her blood and her body felt like she was being attacked, like something wanted to kill her, like fear and an echo of rage boiled inside her and—_

_Okay. She was having a panic attack. She'd had enough of those in the past three years to recognize them, but the timing now was really bad. That 'Dark Korra' vision was nowhere to be seen, thank the spirits, but she also didn't want to look too hard. She couldn't focus or meditate while plummeting, she had to... had to bend. Take control. All the poison was out of her system, nobody was after her. Take control..._

_Korra flipped her arms up, summoning alternating gusts of wind to buffet her, slowing her descent. It wasn't as controlled as fire jets, but that's what she'd used that day, and it wasn't that day. Get to the ground, fall apart then if you have to, but it isn't three years ago. You're in control..._

_More wind punches to control her angle. The ground was coming quite fast now. She created an air-ball, like she used to race the kids with when they were ostrich horsing around. That's all she was doing, playing. She was safe._

_Her heart raced._

_With a final scream, she crouched, earthbending the ground beneath her into cushioning her fall. Her bones shook—far, far too much like her final landing against Zaheer, though none of them were broken this time. Nothing was broken._

_But she felt mighty cracked._

_Korra fell forward, onto her hands, struggling to catch her breath. Letting herself struggle. She didn't fight it, not like she had before._

“ _Korra!” Asami shouted, rushing up, sliding on her knees the last few feet to be beside her. “Korra, are you okay?”_

“ _Will be,” she managed._

_Asami hugged her head against her chest. Her heart was pounding, too. “Alright. Just tell me anything you need.”_

_Dark—her eyes were closed. Quiet—she made her breath calm._

_Solitude—_

_No. Maybe that's how she'd always tried to manage before, but she wouldn't shut Asami out. That had just hurt them both._

_She clasped Asami's hands, and conversed with herself._

_There was nothing to be panicking about._

_Zaheer wasn't here. Nobody was attacking._

_The only person here was Asami. And she loves you._

_Gradually, the attack subsided. She didn't fight it, so much as weather it. The air felt at once cold on her sweaty skin, and she turned, sitting on the ground beside Asami._

“ _That... happens sometimes,” Korra said, simply. “Sorry if I scared you.”_

“ _You didn't mean to,” Asami said, laying her head on Korra's shoulder. “Tell me about it?”_

_Korra measured her words, trembling a little in the breeze. “Sometimes... it's like that fight never ended. Like I still have the poison in me, still have a crazy airbender trying to end my life. I know it's over, I know I'm safe, but it... echoes.”_

“ _I know what you mean,” Asami breathed._

_She wanted to believe her. She believed Asami meant it. But she'd felt so alone that day, so scared. “I thought my dad was dead. When he held me, and I saw him, I thought... I thought I was too.”_

_Asami squeezed her fingers._

“ _Sometimes, something will just... trigger it. Bring it all back. Most of the time, I can just hide for a few minutes and ride it out. Sometimes, it's worse. If I ever... kinda vanish into myself for a few days, that's probably why.”_

“ _I'll be there.”_

“ _I... I might not want you to be. I might_ need _you not to be.”_

“ _Korra—” Asami warned._

“ _But I promise I'll tell you. I won't run away or shut you out, but sometimes I really need to just... work myself out._

_Asami sighed. “Okay.”_

_They were facing away from the canyon, out over a wide tangle, more like a dry reef than a field. Small spirits flitted in and out of nooks and crevices, going about their lives, oblivious to the women watching from the rise above._

“ _It really is beautiful here,” Korra said, not precisely changing the subject, but not precisely having anything more to say. That day had changed her. She'd always be living with it. But she was building herself again, now, anew. She wasn't going to be defined by what she'd lost._

_She kissed Asami's hand. It was much better to focus on the things she'd gained._

“ _What...” Asami began, halted, started over. “What if that happens during a fight?”_

“ _It... for a long time, it always did. Before I got back, just about every fight I got in, something would trigger this and maybe I'd fight through it and maybe I'd be overwhelmed... but generally I lost. Getting the rest of the poison out helped, Zaheer helping me come to terms with what he'd done, that helped too, but...” Korra took a deep breath. “When Kuvira attacked Republic City, it started, a few times. But I had so many people with me, so many allies on my side, that helped. The worst... when I saw your hummingbird suit...”_

_Her voice cracked. Was this okay?_

_Asami shifted, twisting so she could face her. Their eyes met, and answered her. Yes._

“ _For a few seconds, for one long heartbeat because I swear it stopped, I thought you were still in it. Then, I saw your parachute, I knew it was yours, but I didn't see your dad's, and... and I was determined. Nearly losing you, knowing the loss you felt, and that you wouldn't miraculously wake up with your father holding you, it gave me focus. Resolve. Every part of me was fighting_ today _'s fight. It's like... I finally caught up.”_

_Asami watched her quietly, her fingers stroking Korra's. Thinking, digesting what she'd been told. Probably analyzing it a little. Being stared at and examined so long usually made Korra start to feel weird, but now? Here?_

_This was Asami. There was nothing she wouldn't show her._

_And she wanted to stare back just as much._

_Asami's expressions changed. Concern, tempered with understanding. Sympathy, mingled with respect. Sadness for what had happened, but happiness for being let in, for being here._

“ _Korra, can I tell you something?”_

_She chuckled. “Do you have to ask?”_

_Asami smiled, looking down slightly, then back up, with lidded eyes Korra was starting to read more and more into. “You might have a hard time hearing it. Or believing it, at least. But I really hope you will, I really hope you'll trust my official and reasoned assessment as a world-class engineer who has seen quite a bit of the world in the course of repeatedly helping you save it.”_

“ _Asami, you're the smartest woman in the world. Of course I trust you.”_

“ _Good,” Asami nodded. “Because you are the strongest, and the bravest. You've always had resolve, you've always fought to do the right thing, but seeing you now, knowing everything you've been through... and knowing how much you like to undercut yourself, too. You are_ amazing _, Korra. I've said it before, but I truly mean it. I do.”_

_Korra blushed, looking away._

_Asami touched her chin, drawing her gaze back. “That's not just me, being sweet. That's not just because of how I feel about you. Like I said, official engineer's assessment.”_

“ _Okay,” Korra said. She wanted to believe that too, but—_

_Asami looked at her, her eyes so bright and true and full of her. She looked at Korra, and she saw someone amazing._

_And so,_

_just a little,_

_Korra felt it, too._

“ _You know, Asami, you're pretty great yourself.”_

_She smirked, and flipped her hair from her shoulder. “Oh, I'm aware.”_

_Their laughter danced in the breeze._

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

As seemed to happen to him too often in his life, Bolin was desperate to help, but didn't know what to do.

When he and Opal ventured out of her room, Asami and Senna were helping Pema put herself back together after a clearly long bout of crying. She looked strong now, smiling at the other women. Would a Bolin tiger bear hug help cheer her up more? What could he even say that Senna and Asami hadn't? They were two of the most sensitive, caring people he knew.

Which made the whole deal with Asami's new invention all the harder to figure out. What did Korra think of it?

He turned away. Opal's athletic distraction hadn't really helped him work through what he'd seen—probably best to shy away for now.

In the entrance hall, just past the kitchen, everybody was scampering about. Korra lugged two thick sacks out the door, followed by three pairs of Air Acolytes, each hauling an equally-sized sack between them.

Kai snickered, leaning against the wall. “That's just showing off. And Asami isn't even paying attention.”

Bolin stepped beside him, out of the way. “Why aren't you helping?”

The boy sighed. “I'm the easiest thing for Jinora to find, so I'm supposed to stay put. Basically I've been relegated to a walkie-talkie, which, you know. Is great.”

“Hey, at least you've got that,” Bolin said. “I think they're just lugging me along for muscle.”

“What, you don't want to go?”

“Of _course_ I want to go, I just...”

“Alright!” Bumi shouted, his voice booming enough to rattle the walls. “First cadre of airbenders, to the dock! The Ferry is almost here!”

Kai and Bolin looked at each other, both of them with their ears plugged. “Should never have taught him that shouting trick. He was loud enough before.”

Bolin nodded, rubbing the inside of his ear with his pinkie. “Opal's going with all of them to help Zaofu. It's not like they need an earthbender on that mission.”

The younger man gave him a suspicious look as wingsuited airbenders began to tromp past. “You've been pretty out of sorts last few days. Kinda somber.”

“Yeah, just... thinking. Fragility of life and all that. Especially now!”

Kai sighed. “Jinora projected here, a while ago. Long enough to tell her what's going on. She said she was going to look for Tenzin, and we haven't seen her since.”

Bolin watched the airbenders pass, yellow and saffron on bodies young and old, tall and thin, every gender and every nation. All airbenders, now. All leaping into action when the world needed it. “Was there a lot of complaining, when they heard where they're going?”

“You mean, where they're _not_ going?” Kai asked. “There was, at first, but Korra spoke up. Reminded them of her sacrifice, how the fate of a nation is bigger than any one person. And that Tenzin would be so, so proud that the Air Nation was mature and wise enough to know where it was truly needed.”

Bolin whistled. “Wow, guilt _then_ pride. I'm guessing that worked.”

“Nobody could really argue, that's for sure.”

Kya breezed in the way the airbenders had just left. Her silver hair was in disarray, half in its normal up-bent tail, half raggedly trailing out of it. “Where's Bumi?” she asked them.

Bolin blinked. Kai pointed with his thumb.

The waterbender nodded thankfully, hustling after her brother. “I'mmmm guessing she just heard.” Kai said.

Korra came back in, just as Asami stepped out of the kitchen. They exchanged quick smiles, lightly touching each other's arm. “How's she doing?” Korra asked.

“Better,” Asami breathed. “Did I see a bunch of airbenders leave?”

“Yeah, they're loading up on the ferry now.”

“I'd better touch base,” Asami said, rushing out.

Korra peered past them. “Hey, Mom, you have a minute?”

“Of course,” Senna said, and Korra stepped past.

“I'm... gonna see if someone could use some help.”

“Sure,” Kai said. “I'll just, keep waiting here then, I guess.”

“You're not okay with this, are you, lil' bro?”

“I...” he sighed. “Not really, but this isn't about me right now. Everybody's worried and scared, and they have bigger things to focus on. But I've never had a real family before, never belonged anywhere. Tenzin's family, the Air Nation, they make me feel like a part of something... until they just sit me in a corner to be a Jinora Radio.”

“A... Jinoradio?” Bolin suggested.

Kai stared at him.

Bolin clapped him on the back, chuckling. “For now, just hang in there and look around. I doubt anybody else is in a good position to keep track of all this mess.”

“You think _you_ feel useless?” Meelo shouted, landing on Bolin's shoulders.

He wasn't even surprised. “How long have you been up there?”

“Only ten million years!”

“It was more like half an hour,” Ikki said, dangling upside-down with her legs wrapped around a rafter. “Uncle Bumi said he didn't want us underfoot all the time but we wanted to know what was going on so I thought up high and it makes sense because we're airbenders.”

“Uh huh, yeah, that makes sense.” Bolin nodded.

“So, Bolin,” Meelo said, somersaulting off of Bolin's back to land in front of him. “You're a reasonable adult. Not like most of the amateurs around here today. Can I ask you a question?”

This kid. “Sure, Meelo. What's up?”

“Why won't anyone tell us what happened to Dad?”

Oh heck. He'd really stepped in it now, hadn't he? He turned to Kai, but he looked as uncomfortable as Bolin felt.

He put on a smile, and knelt. “I'm going to be straight with you, okay?”

Meelo nodded, his eyes serious. Ikki landed beside him, standing close.

“We don't know exactly what happened yet. We know there was some sort of problem where he was, enough to panic the Fire Lord. It could all be overblown, maybe we're all wasting a whole lot of energy over nothing.”

“But what if it isn't?” Ikki asked.

Bolin leaned forward, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “Then we'll have to deal with whatever comes. Together. But it's no good thinking about that yet, alright?”

“That's right!” Meelo shouted, a little louder than normal. “Dad is stronger than anyone!”

“Yeah! He knows if he's in trouble, we'll come to rescue him!”

Oh heck. “I... actually I think Korra's team is already pretty full.”

“Hey, no fair!” Ikki protested, stomping her foot.

“You two get to go!” Meelo said, looking from him to Kai.

“Hold on! Hold on.” Bolin took a breath. What had these kids been told already? Probably, they were too young, it was too dangerous. Maybe some line about how somebody had to stay behind to represent the Air Nation.

But this was their _dad_.

“Look, guys... everybody is scared. That's the big secret about growing up—that never goes away. Everybody is really worried that somebody we all care about could be hurt, and they want to protect you from that.”

“We're not _stupid_ ,” Ikki snapped. “We can see how everybody is acting! It's like everybody is trying to be really calm but the whole house is burning down but they're pretending there's no fire at all, as if that will make the fire go away, so they put on sweaters and say 'Oh my how cold it is!' but they're sweating and we're jumping up and down and saying there's a fire and we want to help put it out but everybody just keeps pretending! I didn't think adults played pretend!”

“Oh, Ikki. Adults play pretend all the time. Just about different things. Sometimes, that's how we deal with being scared. I'll admit, nobody is doing their best right now. And I know you want to help, we _all_ know how good benders you are. But if we're going into danger, _and_ we have to worry about you kids, that'll make it even harder for us.”

“Ah!” Ikki sounded scandalized. “That is totally unfair!”

Bolin shrugged. “When you're right, you're right. Grown ups are a pretty sensitive lot, you know.”

A pair of giggles behind him caught his attention. Opal and Asami had somehow met up in the corner between the entrance and the kitchen door, and were watching him with decided interest.

Bolin rolled his eyes. They could laugh if they wanted. “Hey, you know what?” Bolin said. “You two _did_ help take out the colossus, and Asami needs all the airbenders she can get. Her mission is very important too—if Tenzin were here, he'd be throwing everything he could behind it. Isn't that right, guys?” He said, turning to Asami and his girlfriend.

“That's right,” Opal said.

Asami's brow furrowed for a moment, but she nodded. “Yeah, I could definitely use a couple of benders of your power and experience. And I _definitely_ know how you feel about not being on Korra's team, but sometimes we mature people have to swallow our pride and do what's best. Can you two do that?”

The kids looked at each other. Meelo, apparently, elected himself spokesman. “We will take your proposal under consideration. Come, sister, we must discuss!” He grabbed her arm and yanked her out the door.

Opal tittered once they were out of earshot. Asami crossed her arms, shared a glance with her, then strode past.

“So,” Bolin said, watching his girlfriend as he stood back up. “What were you two talking about? Making fun of me back there?”

“Ohh,” she said sweetly, hugging his bicep. “Not at all. We were both just observing how great you are with kids. Everyone else talks over them or talks around them, but you really know how to connect on their level.”

Kai snorted.

“I meant that in a good way,” she said, glaring at him. “Brat.”

“Yeah, well,” Bolin shrugged. “I can relate. I usually wind up _part_ of people's plans, but nobody really asks my opinion or anything. The difference is, I'm pretty okay with that.”

Opal snorted. “Oh, Bolin. I'd better help wrangle the last of the airbenders. You know how Gira and Tulqlik can linger together when they're scared. Might need a few minutes to get dressed.”

“Wait...” Kai said, straightening. “Those two are together? Like, together together?”

“Uh, yeah,” Opal said, raising an eyebrow. “How could you not figure that out?”

Kai flushed. “Sorry, I just... guess I never thought to consider them that way. Korra and Asami, those two girls... what's next?”

“Where's Kya?” Lin demanded, storming through the door, dripping wet from the rain. “Is she still here?”

Opal and Bolin looked at each other. She smirked. “She went looking for Bumi.”

“Of course,” she said, clomping past.

“Ohhhh boy,” Kai said.

Opal chuckled. “Well, that might be why nobody could find Lin this morning.”

Korra came into the room, more looking back the way she'd come than where she was going. “Really, those two? Huh...” She shook her head, centering herself. “Any of you guys seen Eska? We're about ready to go.”

“She's probably hanging out in the radio room.” Kai said. “She spends like all her time in there.”

“What?” Korra asked. “Why?”

“I dunno, I guess she just likes to hang out with...” Kai's eyes narrowed. “Geez, really?”

Bolin smirked, moving away from the wall. Opal came with, holding his hand. “IIII'll go get her. We're taking Lefty?”

“All saddled and packed,” Korra nodded as he left.

“Second cadre!” Bumi boomed, making Bolin cover one ear—Opal held his other hand, and he didn't care to let go. “To the ferry!”

More airbenders began to filter past, enough that they had to pause and wait for a second. Tulqlik and Gira, their faces resolved, marched past together with their group.

“That's not your ride, is it?” Bolin asked.

Opal bit her lip. “Technically, somebody should remain behind, in case there are any last minute changes or instructions. I can catch up, I know where everybody is meeting.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” Bolin said, agreeing with her bare-faced excuse. They hardly ever seemed to find time for each other, always some mission or crisis, and it wasn't like that was going to go away any time soon. Let them steal a few minutes more.

They made their way to the radio room. All of this, everybody rushing around, all tense and scared, showed just how beloved Tenzin was. But all the delays, all the little encounters before someone went away—that was all love, too. Seeing Pema, drying her eyes and soldiering on in the kitchen, just made him appreciate the woman beside him all the more.

In fact...

“Hey Opal?” Bolin said, drawing to a stop.

“Hmm?”

He wrapped an arm around her and lifted her into a deep kiss. She squealed in brief surprise, then moaned, one leg kicking happily into the air.

Opal looked bleary when he set her down. Stolen kisses between crises were getting old—he had to take a moment to kiss her good and proper now and then. She seemed to appreciate it.

“You're a goof,” she said, leaning against his chest.

“And you're... the best part of my life.”

She smiled up at him, sweetly, and kissed his chin. “C'mon, we better move.”

Eska had the microphone to her face, standing way too close to the operator. “At this point, failing to join this mission would harm our standing diplomatically,” Eska said.

“Ugh,” came the bored reply. Desna. Of course. “I cannot see how that is the case. Extricating the leader of the Air Nation from a Fire Nation crisis has nothing to do with our tribe.”

“Two of our citizens are there.”

“Hardly a justification for a head of state to risk her life. Particularly not for two outcasts.”

“True,” Eska replied, eyes flicking to Bolin, then quickly away. “Our uncle and cousin will be there. It is a show of good will. With the Earth Kingdom gone, stable nations should have good relations.”

“Eska,” Bolin whispered. She waved him off. Opal peeked around them, and smiled.

“Our uncle and cousin are not our concern,” Desna replied. “This crisis may already have killed Tenzin, and Zuko as well. What good would it be if you fell trying to rescue them? That certainly would not strengthen the North.”

“I doubt that will happen,” Eska said. “My companions will be quite capable. But if it did, you will provide continuity to our people while the rest of the world falls into chaos. That would provide a strengthening relative to our neighbors, would it not?”

“Hmm. True.”

“We're supposed to go,” Bolin hissed at her.

“I hear you, Bolin,” she said, then pushed the button for the radio, “Regardless, Desna, we are leaving. I have noted your objections. If I fall, you may help yourself to any of my wardrobe that you find appealing.”

“Yes, that seems rational enough,” Desna said. “I will await news of the outcome. Sister.”

“Brother,” Eska said, and set the radio down. She turned toward Opal and Bolin. “It is time to leave?”

“Yeah, we just—”

“Excuse me?” the radio operator asked.

Eska spun around. “Somi?”

“I... thought you might like this.” She held up a small book, and a pencil. “It's a whole book of word puzzles. You... seem to enjoy them, and it's a long flight, so...”

Eska took them in her hands, staring at them for a long while. Like she wasn't sure they were real. “This is... very observant of you.”

Opal nudged Eska's elbow. The waterbender turned, startled. Opal mouthed, 'Thank you,' and motioned with her hands.

Eska turned back toward Somi. “Th...Thank you?”

Somi smiled. “Good luck, Highness. I'm awaiting news of the outcome, too.”

Eska quirked her head. “Well, I imagine you'll be the first to hear it.” She stared at the radio operator for a long moment, frowning, then turned around and stepped toward the door.

Opal was grinning wide, and Bolin was trying to keep his face as still as possible. He wasn't the only one that Opal had been a good influence on!

As they turned through the door, he realized Eska hadn't followed them. Bolin peeked back in. Eska had stopped, staring at the puzzle book again. She noticed Bolin, then shoved it at him.

“Hold this,” she commanded, then turned and glided back to Somi's chair. “I wish to hug you.”

Somi chuckled. “Alright, fair enough. Follow my lead, though?”

“Very well.”

Somi rose, pushed the chair away, and held her arms out slowly, so Eska could mirror her positioning. They enveloped each other smoothly, and applied the perfect amount of pressure to each others' backs.

“Good luck,” Somi said.

“And you as well,” Eska replied.

They released the hug in mutual, silent accord, and Eska turned and strode smoothly into the hall.

“That was a foolish thing for me to say,” she muttered. “She is operating a radio. Why should I wish her luck?”

“Oh,” Opal soothed, “we all say silly things sometimes, when we're flustered.”

“Ridiculous,” Eska said. But Bolin handed her back the puzzle book, and she smiled.

Eska's stride was fast enough that they were able to fall a little behind—enough to share the laughter they'd been holding in. “Do you think?” Bolin asked.

“Honestly not sure,” Opal replied. “She's so stiff and awkward, that might just be how she makes friends. But that _was_ pretty adorable. You know how much I love adorable.”

“Ah, you finally admit it! You're only with me because of Pabu.”

She laughed, and hit him playfully on the chest. They stopped, in the archway leading out to the bison stables. Tonraq was fastening something in the saddle, Kai was holding Lefty's reins, while Korra was talking with Asami at Lefty's side.

“Bolin...” Opal said, all levity gone. She was staring at Korra and Asami too. “You be careful, okay? This situation sounds bad, and this all started because of Dark Spirit attacks, so those could still be happening too. I want to see Master Tenzin home safe and sound as much as anyone else, but... you take care of yourself first, alright? You make sure you come back to me, you adorable oaf.”

“I'll try,” he, clasping her hands. “I mean, he's the head of a whole nation, I'm just—”

“Don't you 'just' me!” she said, fire in her eyes. It was intense and scary and sexy as hell.

“Love you, Opal.”

“Back atcha, Bo,” she said, touching his cheek. “Better go.”

He nodded, sighed, kissed her, then strode out toward the waiting flying bison, one hand up to shield his eyes from the rain. Luckily, it had lightened to a drizzle, but still...

His steps slowed as he heard hushed voices, not-precisely-hiding behind a bush. He slowed down, not intending to eavesdrop, but when he made out Lin and Kya, his feet stopped on their own accord.

“Do you know why you called me?” Kya was asking.

“You're the best healer in the city,” Lin replied quickly. “And I know I can trust you.”

“And that was all?”

“Sure. Yeah. What else?”

“What else?!”

“What, you mean... this? This, whatever it is?”

“Why does it have to be anything.”

“It's _clearly_ something.”

“We don't need to label it, though! It's... okay today has been awful and yesterday was awful for you but in between? Last night?”

“When you got me so drunk I can barely remember it?”

“Barely remember.”

“That's right.”

“Really.”

Lin cleared her throat. “Well...”

Kya laughed. “Look. I realize I'm not exactly impartial here, but... the President ordered you to stay home. But you rushed all the way out here, and I'm the only person you want to talk to. What does that tell you, Miss Detective?”

“Oh, don't be flip.”

“Don't be so serious!”

“Oh, Bolin,” Asami said, walking close, an umbrella on her shoulder.

He jumped, and put a finger to his lips. Okay, this was definitely eavesdropping at this point.

Asami crept up, and joined him, the umbrella over them both.

“If you don't like serious, why come after _me_?”

“If you don't like flip, why let me? Lin...”

“Kya, your necklace.”

“What?”

“Your necklace. You're not wearing it.”

“Oh... yeah I guess I left it at your place.”

“Left it at...”

“Look, just give it to me when I come back.”

“Give it back to you. A betrothal necklace.”

“Oh, spirits, Lin! I'm Southern, that's not how we do things!”

“So you didn't wear it to scare guys off?”

“Well, no that's exactly why I wore it. I wasn't a natural at it, like some people.”

Lin growled. “Just... come by and get it when you get back!”

“So, you want me to come over again?”

“Oh, you damned sneak!”

Asami touched his shoulder, motioning him to follow her away. Bolin nodded, forcing his curious feet to pry themselves away.

“Yeah, I probably shouldn't have listened to all that...” Bolin said, whispering needlessly. “But like, I couldn't pull my ears away. It's like, they're talking around each other, and they're talking like they _have_ to say this now, and everybody's like that today, and...”

“Everybody is taking a moment or two with the people they love,” Asami said, her glance toward Korra lingering. “Fear has a way of clarifying things.”

“Yeah,” Bolin winced. “I guess it does. We... we didn't get a chance to talk, after that police thing the other day. Is that... those weapons.”

Asami looked away, pushing hair from her eyes. “That... didn't go exactly like I planned. The man you... saw. That... He was the one who killed my mother.”

“Oh.”

“I'm... not sure how to feel about what I did.”

“Uh, yeah. I bet.” He'd been such an idiot. All that time, focusing on how scary these weapons were, how brutal the damage, how he couldn't associate his friend with such a thing, and he hadn't thought to see how she was. “Did... does Korra know?”

Asami nodded. “She forgives me. She forgives everyone. I... she's amazing. I wish I could be like that.”

It sounded like someone had a little too much clarity recently. “Hey. You're Asami Sato. You're the best there is. If Korra loves you, you know you must deserve it, right?”

Asami smiled. “Right. Aaand you've got me walking back toward her when she's trying to get away.”

“Oh, you found Bolin!” Korra said, grinning at her. “Any luck on Kya?”

“She's... nearby,” Asami answered.

“Hold on!” somebody called, breathlessly. Everybody looked up, and saw Pema, rushing across the pavilion with a basket in hand. She let out a long breath once she'd reached them. “My, this place keeps getting bigger as I get older. Trust me, kids, that's how it works.”

“That's a fact,” Tonraq said from up in the saddle. “I can attest to it. Stairs especially.”

“Are you okay, Pema?” Korra asked.

She nodded, swinging the basket toward her. “I made you all a hot meal, for the flight over. And I bundled up some sticky buns for Tenzin, for when... for when you find him.”

Korra took the basket, handed it up, then pulled Pema into a hug. “Thanks. Stay strong, okay?”

“What choice do we have?” Pema sighed. “Bring him home. I... I don't know what I'll do if—”

“We will,” Korra reassured her.

“I'm coming!” Kya said, rushing toward them. Lin was nowhere to be seen, but her hair looked even more unruly than it had before. “Spirits, I'm sorry. Let's go save my little brother.”

“Right!” Korra said. “Hop on. Bolin?”

Pema had stepped back, hands clasped in front of her, the rain hitting her as it liked. She was so quiet, so scared, and still, she'd found some way to lift their spirits, some way to help. Some way to show her love.

Delay after delay had pushed them back, even though they were all desperate to save him. Because they were all afraid to find out they couldn't.

He looked at Pema, and saw a woman fighting the knowledge that she might never see the man she loves again. Standing out in the rain, daring to hope.

“Bolin?” Korra repeated.

“Just a minute,” he said, running back toward the Air Temple.

“Hey, wait!” Korra called after.

He shouldn't be doing this. Not right now, when time was of the essence. Not without plans, not without...

Opal was still there, watching. She frowned, confused to see him running her way. He waved at her, motioning her out, and at once, she made an air scooter and met him halfway.

“Bolin, what is it?”

“Something I need your help with, real quick,” he said, then kicked up a small hunk of stone. He concentrated, spun it, turned it into a glowing hunk of lava, floating in the air.

“Uh, Bo?”

“Okay, when I tell you to, I want you to airbend cool this thing as fast as you can.”

“As fast as I can?”

“Yup! I'll hold it in place, just... okay!”

Her eyebrows crinkled with concentration. She shot a jet of air at it, nearly yanking the molten fleck from his control. Steam hissed from it as rain came with her jet, shrouding their focus from view. He tightened his grip, pushing in on the sides, keeping the shape steady...

“Okay, that's good!” Bolin shouted, and she dropped her hands. He brought the black rock close, holding it near his hand to make sure it had cooled off. It was warm to the touch, but as shiny and smooth as he'd wanted.

“Bolin, what's going on?” Opal asked, looking at it curiously.

“Usually lavabending leaves the ground all rough and course and craggy. Maybe it gets the job done, but it's like a big scar is left afterwards. It's not elegant, or pretty, or anything. But this...”

“Is that obsidian?”

“Yes Opal, I think that's what it's called, can I just—”

Her eyes lit up. “That's—okay that's pretty neat, but I don't see why—”

“Opal.” He plucked it from the air—it was warm, but comfortably so—and placed it in her hand. “It's smooth, and it shines, and it's beautiful. Because we made it together. Neither of us could have made it alone. I want...” He swallowed. Talking was hard, which was weird when he had something he really, really wanted to say. “I want...”

Opal blushed a little, her eyes wide. “Bolin, are you—”

He knelt before her, his hands clasped around hers. “I want to live the rest of our lives like that. Together. Opal, will you... would you take me as...”

She was smiling. She was sobbing. He was crying too.

“Marry me,” he said.

Her lips were trembling. She nodded. That was all Bolin needed to leap up, collecting her in his arms and swinging her around and around, showering kisses all over her crying face.

“Turtle duck!” Eska called. “We have to—what? Why are you all shushhing...”

Just like that, their perfect moment was over.

Except it wasn't. He looked in her eyes, and it was still there. Her hands clasped the obsidian gem tight against her chest.

Their perfect moment was just beginning.

“Go on,” she said. “Come back. _Soon_.”

Bolin smirked. “Oh, you bet.” One last kiss, and he ran toward the others waiting on Lefty. If the bison were even necessary—right now, he felt like he could fly.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy so much fun! 
> 
> First of all, this post comes at the end of Korrasami Week 2016. I had a great time, went through several different tones, and honestly, in my mind, many of these stories can exist within March of Progress canon as well, though perhaps after the fact. Feel free to give them a look! http://archiveofourown.org/series/553051
> 
> As for this chapter--for one, we pushed over the 100,000 word mark! Let's have a big gay party because holy shit for a chapter about Bolin there's a lot of queerness that happened here and I love it. Korrasami! Kyalin! Eska doing whatever it is she's doing! Even the famous airbender girlfriends sneak in there! 
> 
> Okay, to be a little more serious... Bolin felt like he was getting short shrift in this story. I didn't give him anything as substantial as the rest of the Krew... but seeing as he took over Asami's plotline in Book 2, and Asami's only plotline in Book 3 was 'low key woo the Avatar,' I figured letting Bolin backseat isn't terrible. Still, I wanted to give him a moment, and a continuous perspective chapter like this was a great chance to do that. 
> 
> PLUS SO MANY CUTE THINGS HAPPEN OH GOSH I'M GLAD ALL THESE CHARACTERS WILL BE HAPPY FOREVER AND THAT THEY'RE NOT JUST AVOIDING A LOOMING SENSE OF DREAD. Because that would be bad for them. 
> 
> Bopal, though! Didn't know Bolin had that much smoothness in him. :)
> 
> Also, easy as it is to forget after everything that happens in the chapter proper, but I quite like how the vacation flashback turned out, too. Korra is BETTER, but she wasn't FIXED. She'll carry some of this for the rest of her life, probably, but she's become strong enough to survive it. And if she needs help, and support, and love, well... I'm sure she can find someone nearby.


	17. Delegation

_Asami and Korra were walking through a spectral meadow, its flowers shifting color with every ripple of the wind. For just a moment, Asami paused, watching the colors eddy around a stone. Korra kept moving, the petals shimmering in her wake. Asami chuckled, taking several long strides to catch up._

_Just before she pulled even with Korra, though, Korra sped up, just a little. Asami took advantage of her longer legs, lengthening her stride, but Korra quickened her step._

_The race was on, with laughter at first, but soon that subsided as both of them broke into sprints. Korra had started a step ahead, but Asami's stride and leaner frame let her catch up._

“ _Aah!” Korra growled, then a moment later, sped past—without her backpack._

_Oh, that sneak! Asami shrugged hers off as well, losing distance as she did but quickly regaining the advantage, since she had packed significantly more to begin with._

_Leaving their supplies was probably not the best idea, but... Korra was pulling away!_

_Asami dug her toes into the dirt, unleashing herself as she seldom had to. Her heart pounded, her shins began to cramp, but the look of shock on Korra's face as she galloped past was worth it. Korra furrowed her brow, getting back into the game, but only managed to match Asami's speed._

_Satisfying as that was, Asami knew she was almost out of gas. She could beat Korra in a sprint, but over prolonged distance, the Avatar's stamina would overwhelm her._

_'The Avatar's stamina would overwhelm her.' There's a thought she'd like to explore..._

_She pushed it from her mind. There was a rock up ahead, one of the few landmarks in the wide field, the flowers blue and still where they were protected from the wind. She angled toward it, silently declaring that the end line of their impromptu race, and broke out what she had left._

_So did Korra._

_Asami's legs burned, her lungs screamed as the shadow approached, but slowly, imperceptibly at first, Korra inched ahead of her. With a few strides left to go, Asami gave in, soft-stepping her momentum down, panting heavily._

_Korra blazed into the shadow at top speed, careening into the boulder with only her hands to cushion the impact. “Oof!” She staggered back and flopped down at Asami's feet, blinking dazedly._

_Laughs trickled out between Asami's breaths. When Korra gave her all, she really did tend to focus, didn't she? “Guess... I win... after all,” Asami wheezed._

_Korra gave her a scandalized look. “How do you figure that? I was in front at the end, Miss Science.”_

“ _Yeah,” Asami said, crouching down beside her. “But I'm still standing.”_

_Korra narrowed her eyes. Asami was pretty sure she knew what was coming, but she did nothing to stop it._

_And indeed, Korra kicked herself into a spin, sweeping Asami's legs from under her, laying her out in the flowers beside her._

_She landed well, the flowers cushioning her fall almost as if they'd meant to. Korra rolled onto her side, flopping an arm across her. “Gotcha.”_

“ _Yup,” Asami agreed. “I definitely won.”_

_Korra opened her mouth to retort, but Asami silenced her with a kiss. She accepted it, squeezing her shoulder, both of them still panting heavily from the run._

_The only spirits they'd seen in a while were puffy flying things that whisked along the flower tops, and paid them no mind. On the ground, even with Korra mostly on top of her, the flowers still rose above them, protecting them from view._

_Asami surged against Korra, putting herself atop the woman without interrupting the stream of kissing. Korra was becoming exceedingly skilled at rolling with it._

_Then Asami leaned up enough to begin unfastening her jacket._

_Korra's eyes widened, startled at first, but she moaned into Asami's lips. “Hot from your run?”_

“ _Among other things,” Asami purred, nibbling Korra's chin, hurling her jacket away._

_She shuddered, but looked away, worried. “What if... what if someone sees?”_

“ _Bend us a roof.”_

_Korra bit her lip, nodding, closing her eyes. But she didn't move to do it. He hands clutched Asami's shoulders, dug into her back, her breath hitched and gasped, but she was weirdly passive._

_Asami slowed down, staring into Korra's eyes._

_There was desire there, yes. Nervousness, understandably. She opened her mouth, a word almost escaping, but ending up as a sigh._

_Asami's fingers trailed up Korra's side, languidly, tracing around her breast, up her collarbone, behind Korra's ear. She could see Korra's body respond, felt the pressure against her hand... but her eyes. Big, blue, beautiful... but..._

“ _Korra...” Asami said, reaching for her hand, bringing it to her lips. “You're nervous.”_

_She laughed, quick and manic. “This is... I... This is something you want. I...”_

_She kissed Korra's hand. “Talk to me. It's okay.”_

“ _I just... I want you to be happy.”_

_Asami smiled. “And I want the same for you. But it's like I said before, Korra, if you're not ready for... something, just let me know.”_

“ _But... but you looked so... Spirits Asami you're beautiful, and you_ want _...”_

“ _You.”_

_Korra gave her nervous laugh again. “It's just... there's so much I'm worried about, so much I'm not sure I know how to... and we're in the Spirit World and if I mess something up you're stuck with me and—” She sighed. “I'm a little scared.”_

_Asami wet her lips. “Well. Scared is no way to start. You just... you seem to respond, you feel like you're enjoying it—”_

“ _Oh, I so completely am! Too much...” Korra blushed, and Asami found restraint even harder._

“ _Okay. It sounds like some of this has to do with the Spirit World. Things can get weird here, after all, it might not be the safest place to... experiment.”_

_She blushed harder._

_Asami had to close her eyes. “I don't ever want you to do something you don't want to, something you're not ready for, just to make me happy. It's together or not at all, right?”_

“ _Together,” Korra repeated._

_Asami nodded, rolling onto the ground beside her, their legs and arms still tangled. “All the same, though, Korra, the moment you are ready for something—”_

_Korra laughed. “Those clouds gave you too many ideas.”_

“ _I've been thinking of those things for years!”_

_Korra snorted._

“ _Hey, I said I preferred to wait for you, but that doesn't stop me wanting things.”_

_Korra sighed. “That must be nice. Knowing what you want. I feel like I've spent my whole life figuring it out and I'm barely any closer.”_

_Asami nuzzled their heads together. “You kidding? I think you're just figuring out that you're allowed to want anything to begin with. You put the Avatar first too much. You need to make sure Korra is good, too.”_

_A silence grew between them. Had that been the wrong thing to say? She looked, and Korra was... apart. Staring upward, staring inward. The words had hit home._

_Well, good. That's something Korra needed to know. And now, Asami was in a position to make sure she lived by it._

_After all, what family did she have left?_

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

Opal had a dazed look on her face, her hands clasped together, clutching Bolin's engagement gift beneath her chin. She stared at Leftie as the bison flew from sight, then continued staring at the stormy sky for a long moment after.

Asami waited, her umbrella up against the rain that Opal seemed oblivious to. She restrained a wide smile—with difficulty—wanting to let Opal tell her what had obviously happened herself.

The airbender leaped into the air, a column of raindrops spiraling beneath her. “Yaaahahaha!” she cried out at the apex of her flight, raising her clasped hands into the air before hugging them to herself, kicking wildly as she fell. Asami covered her lips, snickering as Opal airbent herself safely to the ground nearby. She was barely composed when Opal rushed over to her.

“Asami!”

“What was that about? Did Bolin give you some good news?”

She grabbed Asami's shoulders, somehow keeping the stone in her grip as she shook her. “We're getting married!”

Asami let her grin loose, pulling Opal into a deep—and soggy—hug. “Three years of courtship is long enough eh?”

“Aaaaah!”

“I'm so happy for you!”

“Aaaaah! Just... AAH!”

“And that proposal? Way smoother than I would have expected out of Bolin!”

She stepped away, leaping up in down in circles. “AAAH! I wanted— We— Then— But—”

“Aaaah?” Asami suggested.

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!” Opal agreed, grabbing her shoulders again, laughing.

Pema caught up with them, as soaked as Opal. “Congratulations,” she said, her smile weak, but not forced.

Opal tried to scream again, but was so out or breath and horse it came out as a strangled “aaaahggggg.”

She was just so infectiously excited, Asami couldn't help but grin. After this last few days, she'd needed something like this.

“Let's get inside and share the news,” Pema suggested, an arm over Opal's shoulder.

“That's right!” Opal said. “I need to tell...”

Opal stopped in her tracks. Rain plastered her hair against her forehead, dripping off her chin as the happiness drained from her face. Her fingers squeezed down on the stone she and Bolin had made.

“I need to tell my family,” she said, her voice firm.

“What you need to do is dry off,” Pema stated, dragging the younger woman with her. “Then we'll get you and Asami and everyone else on a ferry, and you can get the relief mission moving. Within a few days, you can tell your mother the good news in person.

A subdued Opal allowed herself to be led. Asami followed quietly. She checked the time—half an hour yet until the next ferry docked, assuming the rain didn't put it behind schedule. Time enough to check in with the plan's progress.

She went to Tenzin's telephone and called her office.

“Future Industries, Office of Asami Sato,” Tenni snapped on the other end.

Asami blinked. That wasn't her normal, professional tone. “What—”

“We are not making any statements or comments at this time! An official press release—”

“Tenni, it's me!”

“Miss Sato!” her assistant gave a long sigh of relief. “Will you _please_ warn me next time you decide to grab the attention of every newsie on the continent at the same time? _Everybody_ is going hard on this City Hall kiss of yours. Security has had to escort half a dozen reporters off the property already, and I can only imagine what's going on outside your apartment.”

Asami rolled her eyes. “It had to happen, at at least it'll keep Tenzin and the Zaofu mission off the front page for a day or two.”

“A day or two? Miss Sato, there's two dozen protesters trying to block the street. That snowmobile contract with Jituq's Forestry Service got canceled. Stocks are down eight percent!”

She winced, cursing herself. They should have had a public relations plan in place from the day they got back. “Stocks will bounce back. In fact, this could be an opportunity to buy back a larger ownership share. But issue a memo to keep the troops calm—yes, it's true, but Future Industries survived the Equalist connection, it can survive me loving the Avatar. Get our press agent in the building, get him whatever he wants. But don't walk this back.”

“He showed up himself, and commandeered your office and your phone. He's barely been off it. I'm assuming you don't have time to talk to him right now?”

Asami pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, I really don't. Zaofu.”

“The metalbenders you recruited have been a big help. They can't make most of the gun parts themselves, they lack the precision and they can't render the metal to the quality we need, but the parts they can, we've got a massive surplus of. Plus, simply being able to bend huge chunks of metal at once has smoothed out a lot of the logistics of the production line. We might consider asking if any of Chief Beifong's retired officers want a job once this all settles down.”

“Good idea,” Asami said. She'd long lamented the near-monopoly the RCPD had on metalbenders, but had never thought to look into retirees. “Are all the airbenders gathering smoothly?”

“Yes. And attracting quite a lot of attention for it. I sent an intern out to buy a bunch of ponchos for them to wear over their wingsuits so maybe all the reporters camped out don't start asking why we're trucking in the whole Air Nation.”

Tenni was on a roll today. “Great thinking. The airships?”

“They'll be fully loaded by morning. All of the Zaofu metalbenders want to hitch a ride back home when you go, but they're prepared to work through the night to make sure it happens.”

She'd only meant to borrow them from the rebuilding effort, but then, Su surely would have recalled them if she could have gotten a message out. “Just make sure nobody pushes too hard. An accident is the last thing anybody wants.”

“Of course,” Tenni said, her tone clearly wishing to add more. “Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too hard?”

“Me?”

“You've been working ten or twelve hour days since you and Korra got back, you come in most mornings with sketches or blueprints or paperwork you worked on over night, you've personally been negotiating real estate and zoning contracts, you orchestrate a police sting... you don't have to do all of this personally, you know. I'm only _marginally_ overworked most days. Not to use a forbidden term, but you could, perhaps, consider delegation.”

She did her best not to sulk. “I never _forbade_ that word.”

“No. You just treat it as an insult. Even your father delegated, Miss Sato.”

Of course he had. He had too many off-the-books operations to see to everything himself. “I'm handling everything fine.”

“Miss Sato,” Tenni said sternly. “As your executive assistant, it is my responsibility to make sure you are best equipped to handle yours. Which sometimes requires managing my boss, which is awkward when she knows she's the smartest person on the continent. But if you don't let me at least compile a list of things you personally take care of that could be safely passed down, I must inform you that I now do have a recourse to take against your stubbornness.”

Asami narrowed her eyes. “What's that.”

“I can tattle to your girlfriend.”

Oh. Oh spirits, that would work, too. “We should play Pai Sho sometime.”

“As soon as you can clear some in your schedule, I'd love to.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

It was hours into their journey before all the congratulations for Bolin settled down, and nervous apprehension began to settle over them. They were flying through the night, arriving hopefully before dawn.

Last Korra had checked, Bolin was asleep. Kai was quietly handling Leftie's reins. Tonraq and Eska had gotten into a quiet conversation about timber and mineral rights in the Spirit World, which Korra honestly didn't feel up for right now.

Korra sat in the back of the bison's saddle, watching the horizon back they way they'd come. She was tired, but how could she rest? Asami was alone again, tonight. Try as she might to hide it, she still wasn't sure what to think of herself after fighting that firebender. She'd have to wrestle with that again tonight, alone. If she wasn't sleepless in bed already. Then she'd be setting off to relieve Zaofu. Making sure Mako and Su and everyone could put the Earth territories in order. Doing Korra's job when Korra couldn't.

Kya kicked her legs off the side of the saddle, scrunching her bare feet in Leftie's fur. Korra crossed her arms on top of her knees, staring off.

“You doing okay?” Kya asked.

Korra nodded. “I guess. I mean, Tenzin.”

“We'll... do what we can, when we get there,” Kya said. Her long braid blew over her shoulder, fluttering in the chill wind. “But I notice, you're not staring in his direction.”

“I'm just... thinking. This job. Being the Avatar. It's... too big. Everybody expects me to swoop in and help with their problems but, right now? Republic City still isn't rebuilt, the Fire Nation is in trouble, we don't even know what's going on in Zaofu, the rest of the Earth territories are still without a government, _and_ the Water Tribes are having a spat. How... how could I possibly deal with that!? Not even Aang could have dealt with all that at once!”

Kya chuckled. “If you think about it, you already know the answer. Dad would've done exactly what you're doing. If anything, you're doing it better.”

Korra frowned. Better than Aang? According to his daughter? “How do you mean?”

She leaned back on her arms. “At the end of the war. Dad vanished to commune with a Lion Turtle, feeling totally unprepared to deal with Ozai. If it had just been him—assuming he hadn't been captured or killed long before then—what would have happened? Nobody would have liberated Ba Sing Se. Nobody would have taken out the airship fleet. Nobody would have defeated Azula. Even if he'd beaten Ozai alone that day, the war would have continued, and the world would probably still be in ruins.

“You, though? You didn't vanish. You took the reins. Look what you've organized! You listed all those problems that you can't personally deal with, but you're making sure somebody is.”

Korra stared back. “That... most of that was Asami. She's the organizer.”

“And Sokka was the strategist. Hey.” She punched Korra lightly on the shoulder. “Don't you even try to pretend my dad never doubted himself. Never felt guilty for not doing more. He went to his whole life bearing the guilt for abandoning his whole people to genocide. _You_ brought them back. Yeah, Dad saved the world. But you've recreated it. He would be... I'm not sure if you should count as like, a his daughter or granddaughter or what, exactly. But Dad would be so, _so_ proud of you. And glad that the world is in good hands.”

Korra's mouth was slack, staring at her. Now it was Kya, staring back the way they'd come, thinking. “Thank you,” Korra finally managed.

“Hey, it's just the truth. Anything else you were thinking about?”

She sighed. “Eh. Just my amazing girlfriend back there.

Kya sighed too, one hand raised to feel along the side of her neck. “Yeah. That's a pretty great feeling.”

They both sighed together.

“You ready to come to me for pointers yet?”

Korra was too shocked to be embarrassed. “My father is literally right there behind you. So no.”

“Pointers?” Tonraq asked, quirking an eyebrow at the women.

Korra smacked her forehead. “Okay, _this_ is not something Aang ever had to deal with.”

“Guys!” Kai called from ahead. They all turned.

Jinora was with him.

Everybody rushed to the front of the saddle, trampling Bolin enough to wake him up.

The look on her face wasn't promising—but it wasn't hopeless, either. “What did you find out?” Korra asked.

“Dad's spirit is... it's weak. I couldn't drop in on him, but I still _felt_ it, I...” She took a deep breath. “I kept appearing in this Fire Nation town. Korra, I don't know what's going on there, but it's bad. It's like it's been conquered, everybody hides inside all the time. And spirits keep coming out of the forest to attack the city, and the soldiers... they're killing them.”

“Who's killing who?” Bolin asked.

“Fire Nation soldiers are killing the spirits.”

Air hissed through Korra's teeth. “Killing them? How, I mean... it's tough for a bender to beat a spirit, much less kill one. I don't think they actually properly die.”

“Well these ones are.”

“This cannot be allowed to continue,” Eska said. “Even if the Fire Nation chooses not to revere them, angering them will only make them distrust all of humanity.”

Kya crossed her arms. “What's Izumi thinking?”

“Are you okay?” asked Kai.

Jinora smiled at him. “No,” she said, a tear welling in the corner of her eye. “Honestly I'm not. I should be able to find him. I found Oogi, off in a clearing outside the city, but dad isn't there either. There's fires inside the walls, buildings blown up or knocked over. Nobody is doing anything about it. A few of the soldiers even attacked me, thinking I was a spirit. They pointed these metal tube things at me, and they made this huge noise, and—”

Bolin gasped. “Asami said those were new.”

Korra stared at him. “Asami said what?”

“Um.” He swallowed. “I thought she told you.”

She shook her head. “Told me what, Bolin?”

“Those... those weapons. They sound just like the weapons Asami has been making. The one she used the other day, when...”

Korra nodded. “The sting. She told me that part.” New weapons? Hadn't Future Industries been focusing on infrastructure? “All the soldiers had these...”

“Rifles,” Bolin offered.

“...rifles?”

“That I saw, sure. There were a few-odd firebenders, but a lot less than I expected, given how their army used to work.”

“Did you see Lord Zuko anywhere?” Korra's dad asked.

“Or a couple of Northerners?”

Jinora shook her head. “I kept gravitating toward a particular street, but it's all destroyed buildings and bodies. I don't understand, I thought the Fire Nation was peaceful! They're all from the same nation, why would they do this?”

Kai reached toward her, fingers tracing the space her hand should be.

Korra turned from the private moment, looking at her father and her cousin. “Politics can get complicated,” he said.

“We'll be there in a few hours,” Korra said. “Anything you can find out might help.”

“At least, see if you can warn them not to shoot us,” Bolin added.

Jinora nodded. She locked eyes with Kai, bit her lip, then blinked away.

Everyone else settled quietly around the saddle, contemplating what they'd just heard. The wind felt even chiller than before.

Korra sat beside Bolin, touching his arm. “What do you know about Asami's rifles?”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

In spite of sore backs, dust in their eyes, an engine that sounded increasingly worrisome, and an annoyingly long line, the two jeeps finally pulled up to the checkpoint through the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

She'd heard stories, of course. Who hadn't? But seeing the walls themselves... no wonder the Fire Nation at its height had so much trouble. Even with earthbenders, it had taken decades to build, and it surrounded enough countryside to support the greatest city in the world.

Well, the biggest at least.

Earth Empire troops still manned the checkpoint, though not under Imperial authority—there simply were no other troops to be had.

Mako and Tsu Ying stepped out of the jeep as it rolled to a stop, approaching the soldier in charge. Two of his compatriots stepped forward, but he addressed them politely. “Please, any inquiries should be made at the information bureau inside.”

“We're the White Lotus escort for Wu Hou-Ting and the Zaofu delegation,” Tsu Ying said, gesturing at the two men still sitting in their jeep. Wu waved. “We need to speak to whoever is in overall command at once to prevent both a military and a civil crisis.”

“We, uh...” the guard blinked. “...weren't expecting you.”

“And we weren't expecting someone to lay siege to Zaofu. Shall we pull inside and wait an escort?”

“Yes, Ma'am.” He seemed relieved to be given an out on something clearly above his pay grade. “We'll radio ahead at once.”

Mako blinked, and followed Tsu Ying back into the jeep. “I'd... rather expected I'd do the talking.”

She snorted. “Oh, I'm aware. And I rather expected that they would get into a jurisdictional argument with a Republic City detective rather that just cooperate. Honestly, you really should have gotten somebody to give you a position or title or something if you're going to be sticking your neck into world affairs!”

He stared straight ahead for a moment, and she had to stifle a laugh. “Huh. That's a good point. I guess I'm so by-the-book, I don't think of everything when I have to improvise.”

“All of life is improvising,” Tsu Ying said as Wing drove them into the tunnel. “Make the best with what you have.”

Mako nodded. “I lived like that for years. Lost a lot of meals that way. Got beaten up a few times. By the book is safer.”

“Maybe...” Tsu Ying said. “But makes you predictable, too. That's dangerous.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Does the White Lotus not instill any military discipline, or did they try and it just didn't take?”

“Hey now!” she punched his shoulder. “I didn't say rules aren't important. But you've gotta know why they're there, so you know when you can break them. Like, by breaking into Torru's room on a hunch, Mister Detective.”

Mako grinned.

Wing groaned in the front seat. “I hope they still have rooms reserved for all of us at the hotel with all the other delegates.”

“Hey, that's right!” Wu said. “I need somewhere soft to lie down after all this driving. Oh, Mako, you're rooming with me, right? it'll be just like old times! Falling asleep together, snuggled up in my suite.”

Tsu Ying choked. Wing laughed.

“What?” Wu asked, blinking between them. Mako also looked baffled.

She backed herself up. What had she just heard? Oh, 'my _suite_ ' not 'my _sweet_.'

Wing was still laughing, gripping the wheel hard to keep himself up. Wu turned around in his seat, peeking backwards over it. “I _do_ still need a bodyguard. Leftover Kuvira supporters, all these Red Lotus guys running around, plus who knows how many of my fans might want to kidnap me and force me to be king?”

Mako sighed. “I'm sure the hotel is secure, but I'll make sure we get adjoining rooms at least.”

“Adjoining?”

Wing cleared his throat. “Hey, I'm supposed to be representing Zaofu. I don't have a bunch of political experience. Maybe I should room with you, we could discuss political stuff? Plus I could fight off any bad guys that show up.” He flexed an arm at Wu to demonstrate and...

Yes. Yes he certainly could. My.

“I guess,” Wu said, one leg kicking up sulkily.

“And we could gossip,” Wing suggested.

“Hmm. Mako _is_ pretty lousy at gossiping... very well, Wing. I shall be happy to take you under my, urm, wing.”

Wing chuckled, and gave Wu a wink. Wu didn't seem sure how to take that.

They drove back into the sun, and Wing pulled off to the side.

“Well, since that's settled...” Tsu Ying asked, “what's the plan? The city clearly hasn't been whipped into a Red Lotus revolt yet. We may even have beat Torru here.”

“Maybe,” Mako said. “I think the plan is, blend in. Wu and Wing, work to get support to Zaofu. Find out what you can about the other delegates, see if any are Kuvira loyalists, or Red Lotus converts, or...” he shrugged. “We need to figure out the political situation.”

“Mako, Mako,” Wu said, shaking his head and wearing a smile Tsu Ying could only think of as 'punchable.' “I've been raised on Earth Kingdom politics since I was born. I may not have been part of Aunt Hou-Ting's court, but I was kept very well educated on how it all worked.”

“Right...” Mako said, voicing her skepticism.

Wu, of course, didn't hear it. “We've got it,” Wing said. “What about the rest of you?”

“We focus on Torru's target: the people. They're the real power here, whether or not they realize it.”

“What do you mean?” Wu asked. “Zaheer is the one that killed my Aunt and started the revolution.”

“Sparked it, maybe,” Tsu Ying said. “But he and his friends were just four people. They didn't command the people of the city to turn against the monarchy. They just unleashed it.”

Mako nodded. “And depending on how Kuvira treated them, they may be straining at that leash again.”

“Oh,” Wu said, pulling his collar away from his neck. “Yeah, you guys all check on that leash then.”

“There's four of us in a city of millions,” Tsu Ying said, staring across the farmland at the distant inner wall. “Where do we even _start_?”

Mako looked her over. “First thing, we get you out of that uniform.”

She smirked. “Pardon?”

“At least wait until we get to the hotel, man,” Wing said.

“I meant, to blend in!” he said, pinching between his eyes. “There's always refugees making their way into the city. We want to get wind of anyone trying to manipulate the masses?”

“Blend into the masses,” Tsu Ying said. “Should we start working on our cover stories?”

Mako gave her the oddest look. “As long as it doesn't involve ponchos, sure.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The world looked fuzzier than usual. Jinora's concentration was starting to slip. She'd been projecting to this town for hours, trying to figure out what was going on without being noticed by panicky soldiers.

She'd come up with nothing. Night had fallen here, making the search even harder. The spirit attacks from the forest seemed to be worse after dark—rifle volleys were nearly constant from the walls.

A group of soldiers marched through the street, leading half a dozen people with their hands on their heads between them. Prisoners. How had things in the Fire Nation gotten this bad?

That was a problem for later. But she knew her father wouldn't stand still for what she was seeing here, so maybe he'd gotten arrested for it? It was as good a theory as any. Blinking from alley to abandoned building, she ghosted alongside the group to see where it was headed, and once she'd found the jail, flitted to the roof and, slowly, poked her head down through.

The cells were more than cramped. Narrow beds were doubled up, and more people slept on the floor. _This_ many people couldn't possibly be criminals. Not unless the people in charge changed what counted as a crime.

She suspected that's exactly what had happened.

Still, neither Tenzin nor Zuko was in this cell. She moved on, getting glimpsed now and then, but too quickly to do more than startle somebody. She began to get frustrated, stifling a growl, particularly when she peeked in a cell full of women. Definitely not going to find Zuko or Tenzin there!

Wait.

Jinora peeked in again. One of the women, her hands shackled to the wall, had a distinctly darker skin tone than everybody else in the town, and her long elaborate hair was all Water Tribe. That did not, in itself, mean anything, people moved between countries all the time these days, but her dad _had_ said he was bringing in some waterbenders...

She reoriented herself, peeking through the wall beside her, hopefully out of view of the other women in the cell. “Um... excuse me?”

The woman turned. She wasn't asleep, but her eyes said that she desperately needed it. Particularly the one that was nearly swollen shut. “You're not a spirit... Tenzin's daughter?”

“Jinora. You were with my dad?”

The woman slumped, a manic smile on her face. “Thank the Spirits... listen, you have to get help here, the company that runs this town—”

“The Avatar is on her way right now,” Jinora said. “We need to know what happened. Where is my father? Is he okay?”

“He's... I left him and Zuko with my son. They were hurt, but alive. I haven't heard from them since. I hope... I can only hope they found somewhere to hide. Nuktik can heal, if anyone has been able to keep Tenzin alive, it's my son. But Boss Taka is trying to cover up everything that happened here. I think... if he finds them, I don't think anyone will hear from them again.”

Jinora's eyes narrowed. Her dad was hurt, and this... this Boss Taka was prepared to kill him to cover his own mistakes? “I know, and soon the Avatar will too.”

A tear rolled down the woman's cheek. “Thank you...” she said.

“You're welcome... sorry, I didn't get your name.”

“Caluqtiq,” she breathed.

“You're welcome, Caluqtiq. And thank you. In fact... if Taka knows that, he'll have no reason to make this any worse, will he?”

The woman smirked. “He would not indeed.” She described to Jinora where to find Taka's headquarters, what the man looked like.

She found him quickly enough. Laying in bed, alone, covered in sweat.

“Taka!” she shouted.

The man bolted awake, clutching his heart. He saw her, and recoiled. “Spirits!”

“You aren't so lucky,” she growned. “I'm Master Jinora. Tenzin's daughter. I _know_.”

“K...know what?”

She stared him down. Said nothing.

Taka slumped.

“Get up. Now. There is no hiding what happened here.” Honestly, she didn't know exactly what that was yet, but she knew the man was guilty. “Don't compound your mistake.”

He nodded, weakly.

“Now!”

Taka yelped, tripping over the sheet as he tried to get off the bed. His face smacked the floor, and Jinora couldn't help but smirk. “Have Caluqtiq set free at once, too. We need to find her son, and my dad and Zuko. If it isn't already too late.”

The sun was beginning to rise. Korra and the others would be here soon.

She closed her eyes, took a breath. Thought of her father. His laugh, his voice, his heart. That unique feeling, the spiritual vibration that was uniquely Tenzin.

When her eyes opened, she was again in a muddy street of ruined buildings. The only people nearby were the soldiers firing from the walls, and the bodies.

She growled in frustration. The first rays of dawn were shining in the east, not yet as bright as the fires lit outside the walls so the soldiers could see where they shot. Korra and Kya and the rest couldn't do a thing if she couldn't _find_ her father!

Jinora no longer cared who she startled. She no longer cared how much attention she drew. She rose up, flying above the street, and shouted: “Dad! Dad, where _are_ you?!”

Silence on the streets. Rifle fire in the distance.

“It's Jinora!”

Smoke wafted through her.

“I came for you.” Her voice cracked.

Nobody answered.

“DAD!”

She heard... something. A hiss. Quick, furtive. Where had it been?

There. Between two burned-out buildings. Movement. She set her shoulders, blinking to it.

The man there gasped as she appeared. He was wearing a particularly dirty uniform, and had a box and a bucket of water at his feet. Once he got over his startlement, he pointed at her forehead. At her tattoo. “You're with Tenzin?”

“I'm his daughter,” she said. “Do you know where he is?”

The soldier swallowed. “Yeah. He, Zuko, the kid Nuktik, they're hiding. They saved my life, I've been bringing them supplies, trying to find somebody I can tell about them I know—”

Jinora rose until her eyes were level with is. “Take me to him.”

He nodded, shakily. “Can you... can you maybe glow a little less? I don't want to give them away.”

It would take a while for Boss Taka's new orders to filter out. “Just go,” she said, and flitted away.

If he was startled by her leaving, he didn't show it. He lugged the box and the bucket, walking into the street with a hurried but confident stride. He passed several buildings, then stopped in front of a particularly devastated one, setting down what he was carrying. He looked both ways, stretched, sat on the ground beside them, checked again, then lifted a board and scurried under it.

Jinora flashed herself inside the building. She herself was the only source of light.

Somebody young yelped.

“Just like that,” the soldier said with a sigh. “Tenzin's kid.”

There he was. Laid out, flat on the ground. His mouth was gaping, his eyes glazed. Short stubble grew over much of his head—the part that wasn't burnt.

Back in the Spirit World, her body wanted to weep. She remained as calm as she could. “Is... is he...”

“He needs help,” said a Water Tribe boy, about her age. “I've... I've been doing what I could, but filthy water and cramped space—”

Somebody coughed beside him. Jinora blinked, recognizing Zuko by his scar. His topknot was mostly undone, his lips curled back in a pained sneer that didn't reach his eyes. “Nuktik saved his life. And mine, and Guin's.” He nodded at the soldier.

“He still hasn't woken up,” Nuktik said, chewwing his lip. “He had a fever, muttered and thrashed for a while. We had to keep him quiet, so nobody would hear... I've done everything I can. I need help. We need help.”

“It's coming,” she said. “Taka knows he can't hide this, and Avatar Korra will be here soon. Your mother should be on her way, too.”

“Mom?” he said, hopefully. “She's... she's okay?”

Jinora was staring at her father. “Keep him alive. Just... keep him alive!”

She flitted to Leftie. “I found him.”

Everybody stood at once. “Is he okay?”

“He's in bad shape. The town isn't really secure. He needs healing as fast as we can, but the water's all bad.”

Kya looked around. “Kai, take us higher. Eska, Tonraq, help me gather as much water from the clouds as we can.”

“Can you show me the way?” Korra asked, kicking her glider staff into her hand.

Jinora nodded.

“How can I help?” Bolin asked.

“Spirits are attacking the town almost constantly,” Jinora said. “Let's hope you don't have to, but...”

“Jinora,” Kai said.

They locked eyes.

“We're coming. It'll okay.”

Deep breath. “I... I hope so.” Her voice quavered.

“It will be,” Kai insisted, putting as much tenderness and care as he could into a glance.

“Let's go,” Korra said, her eyes aglow as she leapt from the bison's side. She funneled a tail wind that threw her forward, and added firebending jets from her feet for good measure.

Jinora blinked ahead of her, and led the way.

 

 

 

***

 

Caluqtiq limped, massaging her wrists as the guards guided her out into the gathering dawn. The distant gunshots had become so constant as to barely be notable. The smell of the town, of death and fouled water and butchered spirits, had gotten noticeably worse.

“I'm really free to go?” Caluqtiq asked the soldiers following her.

“Yes, ma'am. We're supposed to make sure you don't get hurt by—”

She stopped listening, leaping into the street and waterbending the muddy ground into icy slopes. Usually, it was a technique used to avoid and evade—right now, it was just the fastest way she could get to her son.

It didn't take her long to find the bar she'd left him in, the damned bar where the spark had hit the tinder. The last place she'd seen him.

Nobody was there. Only the dead, and those she didn't recognize.

He was hiding. Nuktik was a smart boy, he was hiding. Good. Where—

“Caluqtiq?”

She spun at the voice. It was a soldier, his hands up in front of him. “You... we healed you.”

“And I'm in your debt, and Nuktik's. That spirit girl told us you were coming, so they sent—”

“Show me,” she said, hobbling along behind him. She wasn't sure what had happened to her right leg but it throbbed every time she set weight on it. But that didn't matter. Not yet.

The man—Guin—took her to a rubble pile that barely qualified as a building anymore. “Nuktik?” she called out.

“M... Mom?!”

Her heart was near to bursting. “Bend me a marker!” she shouted.

They worked together often enough that he knew what she meant. A glop of mud pulled itself inside, and she followed the feel of it, where it moved, where it stopped.

“Stand back,” she told Guin, taking a steady stance in spite of her aching leg. She pulled the muddy slough around her feet and thrust it into the cracks and crannies of the pile, carefully watching how it settled and shifted. Then she froze the edges, froze the top, and yanked every mud-covered bit of debris from the middle out with a shriek.

The arch she built held, leaving an opening to a tiny hiding spot, barely visible in the growing light. Nuktik rushed out, wrapping himself under her arms.

Caluqtiq wept, holding her son.

“I don't think I like the Fire Nation,” he said into her chest.

She laughed, trembling, running her hand through his hair. “Me either. How are Tenzin and Lord Zuko?”

Coughing came within the shelter. Caluqtiq squinted, ducking inside.

Lord Zuko was awake, nodding at her in spite of the coughs. “You,” he coughed. “You have—” he strained, failing to hold back another bout. Frustrated, he pointed at Nuktik. “Brave,” he said. “Proud.”

She nodded, sniffing back more tears. “He is and I am. Thank you.”

He nodded, one hand covering a pained scowl, while the other pounded against his chest.

That sounded really bad. But Tenzin looked worse.

“Hurt?” Lord Zuko asked, pointing at her son again.

She glanced back, and saw him gingerly trying to hide the blood stains inside his pant legs. “It's nothing,” he said. “I... I took care of it.”

The firebender gave her a skeptical look. “My son is fine,” she said firmly.

Zuko looked away for a moment, then met her gaze again. “Good,” he said.

“Tenzin, however... Lord Zuko, can you stand? Guin, help him.”

She and Nuktik ducked out of the way while the soldier helped the man out. Lord Zuko's steps seemed firm enough, but that slouch and his raspy breaths had her worried.

“Nuktik, watch the structure.”

“Got it,” he said, as she took a thin layer of the wettest mud she could see and bent it into an ice sheet beneath the prone airbender.

“Where are we taking him?” Nuktik asked, his arms up to keep everything steady. “He needs a full immersion treatment, with the cleanest water we can get.”

“The water tower the spirits knocked down,” she said. “It's not far, and enough of it survived the collapse.”

Nuktik nodded, watching Tenzin glide out of the building. His waxy skin looked even worse in the daylight, and whatever they did, that scarring on the side of his face would never fully heal.

A shining blue form whisked down among them, crouching beside him. Jinora's fingers traced the edges of his face. “Hold on, Dad,” she said.

Something hit the middle of the street with a heavy _whump_ , causing nearby buildings to settle, and one of them to collapse. Nuktik grunted, holding the debris pile above Tenzin up, while the rest of them stared at the steaming crater, and what was inside of it.

The crater rose, and the steam dissipated. Two spots glowed within, rising, unblinking, as the form around them resoled into the shape of a woman...

The Avatar.

Caluqtiq finished pulling Tenzin from the wreckage. Korra knelt beside him, touching his head with a tenderness that belied the incredible power emanating from her.

“What can I do?” she asked, her voice reverberating in the air itself.

She took a deep breath. This was the woman who had been stuck in a wheelchair not two years prior? Master Katara really was a miracle worker. “There's a broken water tower, just inside the wall from the river.”

“I saw it.” Avatar Korra made a fist, and the ground beneath all of them hardened, rumbling up out of the street. With one sweep of her arms, the platform was barreling down the street.

The Avatar was here.

Caluqtiq exhaled, wobbling to the ground. Nuktik crouched beside her.

The Avatar was here.

They... they were safe.

She took hold of Nuktik, squeezing him tight.

“Is your eye okay?” he asked.

“They didn't appreciate me trying to escape.”

“That didn't answer my question,” he said, smiling weakly.

“Everything's okay,” she replied, kissing his forehead. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Zuko started coughing, but it wasn't one of his normal fits. He was watching a soldier they'd passed, trying to point at them.

“Lord Zuko?” Guin asked.

“That man—” he said, coughing even harder. Nuktik stood, stepping toward him.

“The soldier?” Nuktik asked.

The old man's face contorted in pain. “No! Xin—” Hacking resumed, and frustration joined the pain in his eyes.

Guin pulled him forward, toward her and Nuktik. “Maybe you should—”

He pushed Guin away and stepped off the platform, rolling in the mud.

Guin fell onto his backside, looking stunned. Nuktik didn't miss a step, but leapt off after him.

Caluqtiq looked at Tenzin, then glanced at the Avatar.

“Go,” the Avatar said.

She took a breath, then rolled off the edge of the slab, bending herself another frozen-mud ramp, angled to reverse her direction and set her on her feet. Her leg throbbed as she set weight on it, but she jogged through it to reach Lord Zuko and her son.

Nuktik was helping him up, and his coughs sounded distinctly wet now. His hand was red as he took it from his mouth. Still, he turned, rushing back the way they'd come far faster than she'd have credited him for.

“What's wrong with that soldier,” Nuktik asked.

Lord Zuko opened his mouth to speak, then cringed, clutching his side, leaning against a wall.

Caluqtiq stepped around him, glancing up the street where the man was still walking. He turned a corner, and Lord Zuko tried to take a step.

She stopped him. “Do you want me to stop that man?”

He nodded quickly, tears in his eyes as the coughs doubled him over.

Caluqtiq turned, and went after him.

Gliding on slabs of muddy ice was faster than running, too, but also a little less impactful on her leg. Whoever the man was, whatever he was up to, he was likely to be more nimble than her if it came to a fight...

He glanced at a group of soldiers as he passed, and spotted her. He stopped just a moment, then shouted something at the troops, pointing at her. The troops looked confused for a moment, then formed ranks. They leveled their rifles as the man turned and ran.

Caluqtiq really hated this place.

She created a ramp beneath her, leaping over them just as they fired their volley. She sailed overhead, pulling and freezing more soggy street up to meet her, landing almost entirely on her good leg, using the other just for balance. As she slid back onto flat terrain, she unfroze her landing ramp and flopped it back on the soldiers she'd jumped over. Should keep them busy...

She was gaining on the man ahead, but there wasn't much further for him to go. He was hoofing it up the gravel path toward the mine. What did he want in there?

“Hey!” she cried out, throwing a flurry of ice darts. “Stop!”

The man spun, and kicked, and a wave if flame reduced the darts to warm mud, spattering his front side.

A firebender.

Disguised as a soldier.

Zuko had recognized him, known that there was only one thing in this direction.

The coal mine.

He wanted to wipe this entire town off the map, with everybody still in it.

She surged ahead, gathering as much mud as she could, sloshing it in front of her to give her a direct slide up the gravel path. She hurled herself after him, drawing her slide up after and hurling them his way as a trio of tendrils.

The firebender was jogging backwards, ready to fend off the attacks. One he kicked away, one he punched apart with a wave, but the third hit his shoulder. She curled her fingers, latching it onto him, yanking him toward her as she landed.

A spike of pain came from her leg, but somehow, she powered through it, stepping forward, tightening her grip on his arm.

He growled, leaping backwards, fire slashing out of his feet and severing their connection. She used what she could salvage of it to grab the ground and pull herself forward, but the man landed steps away from the mine. He barely spared her a look, and turned to run in.

Something loomed behind her, then a rifle volley sounded and blood erupted from the false soldier. Something punched her side, too, a searing pain worse than her leg. She touched it, felt the warm, wet...

She fell to one knee, turning, and saw Lord Zuko, standing right behind her. Dark stains spread out from his midsection, a look of shock frozen on his face.

He slumped to his knees, then toppled to the ground, revealing the cadre of soldiers at the foot of the gravel path. Boss Taka was behind them, shouting something, pushing their weapons down.

Caluqtiq sat. She was tired. Just, so very tired. She shouldn't sleep though. There was something very important about that. She shouldn't sleep.

She slumped on top of Lord Zuko's still form, staring ahead. The warmth spread down her side, but the pain felt... distant. Fine. Everything was going to be fine.

Everything... was...

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everybody.
> 
>  
> 
> This is, finally, the 'shit hit the fan' chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> 'still form' means what you think it means.
> 
>  
> 
> Korra knows about the rifles.
> 
>  
> 
> Bad things have happened. Bad things are happening. Elsewhere, bad things are looming.
> 
>  
> 
> But... at least that flashback was cute, right?
> 
>  
> 
> –
> 
>  
> 
> Also of note, my computer ate the last third of this chapter, and I had to write the whole damned thing again. I was not at all happy with that. 
> 
>  
> 
> This is the first chapter to come out since the Turf War announcement! I'm still over the moon about it, and achingly impatient... but at least, it gives me time to finish this story before it's overwritten! I really don't see a way to incorporate an amusement park developer arc (haha yeah I'm excited but really?)
> 
>  
> 
> Hopefully I can tide a few people over until June! And if you're catching this after it comes out... thanks for reading, and I hope my story is stacking up well!


	18. Behind the Words

“ _Oh, heck,” Asami muttered to herself, picking her backpack up out of the flowers where she'd dropped it in their race._

“ _Break something?” Korra asked, shrugging her own over her shoulder._

“ _Nothing I can't fix,” she said, waving the detached shoulder strap at her._

_Korra snorted. “Do you mean this problem, or was that a general statement of your awesomeness?”_

_Asami rolled her eyes, digging in her backpack. Korra took a few steps away, then earthbent a platform for her to work on._

“ _Oh. Thanks!” Asami said cheerfully, setting her pack on it, then leaning over to dig around inside._

“ _Don't mention it,” Korra said, staring at Asami's backside and loving every minute of it. Ever since she'd noticed it in the desert, those years ago, she'd found the sight strangely captivating. She wished that she'd realized why, back then._

_Asami had out her rope, and appeared to be measuring it against her chest._

_Korra blinked. “Hey, 'sami? What do you need rope for?”_

“ _For making a new strap,” she said, distractedly. “I'll have to cut a couple of holes in the bag, which will ruin it for being water tight, but since it never rains around you, here, that should be fine.”_

“ _Um. Okay sure, I guess that works, but why don't you just sew the strap back on?”_

“ _I... well I didn't bring a sewing machine.”_

“ _Sewing... machine.”_

“ _Kit. I meant kit.”_

“ _You meant machine.”_

 _Asami blushed, pushing a stray strand behind her ear. “Okay maybe. I_ am _a trifle fond of machines.”_

_Korra snorted. “Sure, but I'm not sure that's something you'd use a sewing machine for, anyway. How could you not have brought a sewing kit?” She sat her own backpack down, and started rummaging blindly. She quickly found the little box near the bottom. “Here, use mine.”_

_Asami caught it. She blinked at it. Twice. “Right. Thanks. That's what I'll do then.”_

_Korra crossed her arms, mouth stuck between smiling and speaking. “You don't know how to sew, do you?”_

“ _Well, it's not like my dad taught me. And my mom...”_

_Korra waited, to make sure the topic didn't cause any sadness. It didn't seem to—that had been more a statement than a lament. “Still. Your Ms. Fix-it! You can weld and wrench and screw anything in the world!”_

“ _I can screw—”_

“ _Yeah I know I realized it after I said it.”_

 _Asami laughed. “You're right, though. Wait, you're telling me you_ can _?”_

“ _Pff,” Korra said, waving her incredulity away. “Yeah. It's kind of a big Water Tribe thing, being able to make and mend your own clothes. Heck, I've patched this outfit like a million times.”_

_The other woman leaned back against the work platform, hands resting on top of it. She seemed legitimately impressed. “Huh. I never would have guessed. Another reason we work so well together, though: anything I can't fix, you can.”_

_Korra chuckled. “We are the best team, no doubt. But how is that so surprising? My clothes get torn up like, all the time.”_

“ _I've noticed,” Asami said, biting her lip. “Sometimes I've even enjoyed it. But I don't know, I guess I just never figured...”_

_Korra crossed her arms, shifting her weight to the other leg. “Figured what?”_

“ _I... huh. Guess I never thought about it. Maybe that you got it tailored or something?”_

_Korra snorted. “Dad would disown me. Maybe a fancy dress, I might get that fixed professionally, but it's not like I wear those often, much less to fights.”_

“ _You_ could _stand to dress up a little more,” Asami said._

“ _Yeah?” Korra asked, deciding to join her at the table if she wasn't going to be distracted enough to safely ogle._

“ _Yeah,” she said firmly. “I'm used to being the girl in the room getting all the attention, but you turn more heads than I do.”_

“ _Oh! You are_ such _a liar, Miss Sato!”_

“ _Not at all!” she insisted. “You sure as heck turned mine.”_

“ _I... um.” Korra swallowed. “Well I'm glad to hear that. But I've seen the band lose track of its song when you walk by. If anyone notices me, it's just 'cuz I'm the Avatar.”_

 _Asami sighed, covering Korra's hand in hers. “Maybe you don't believe it, but... Korra, you're_ gorgeous _. Your eyes are just so big and blue and beautiful, your whole face lights up when you smile, and your skin! How can you have grown up in such a dry, freezing climate and fought the way you do and still have smooth skin like that?”_

“ _Your skin is_ way _smoother. It's like silk!”_

“ _Yeah, and I have a whole routine to keep it that way!” Asami said, one hand on her hip. “_ You _just roll out of bed and shake the sleep out of your hair and you're magnetic.”_

“ _You look pretty great in the mornings yourself,” Korra said. “Your 'routines' just make you, I dunno,_ extra _gorgeous. And like, okay fine maybe I look alright. But you! You could step right onto a mover set and take over for any actress there. I mean, your hair is clearly a gift from the spirits to prove to the world that true beauty exists, and your neck and jawline are just so graceful and your legs—”_

“ _Well, you have so much better curves than I do!” Asami countered. “Heck, there's times I feel pretty scrawny, but somehow you are all deliciously defined muscle without a shred of fat on you and you still... you still have...”_

_Korra crossed her arms. “Are you referring to the bust I need to bind down so I don't injure myself when I'm fighting?”_

“ _Yes. I am.” Asami pouted, blushed, and looked away._

_Korra snickered._

“ _Hey, maybe they're an inconvenience to you, but I've... um. Well I've thought more about them than I care to admit.” Her cheeks were still colored, but she definitely wasn't looking away now._

_Okay, so this was veering somewhere that she very much wanted to explore and was very much afraid to. “Tell you what. Next time we go to a gala or something, we'll just have to count who gets more glances.”_

“ _That might be difficult,” Asami said. “Next time we go to a gala, I intend to be on your arm. There's no way two smashing ladies like ourselves won't turn every head in the place!”_

“ _Good point,” Korra sighed, her hands finding themselves on Asami's waist. “And I'll be too distracted looking at you to notice who's looking at either of us.”_

“ _You have that problem too?” Asami asked._

_Korra breathed. It was... it was great knowing that Asami thought that way about her. But there was no way she was even in the same league as the most beautiful woman in the world._

“ _So...” Asami said. “Would you mind fixing my backpack for me?”_

_She snorted. “Asami, of course—”_

“After _we spend some time thoroughly examining all those beautiful things about each other? Within limits, of course.”_

_Gulp. Asami's promise, to let her set their pace, still hung in her mind. But this conversation had her pretty wound up. “That... THAT sounds like a plan.”_

_Asami leaned in against her, kissed her onto the table, and with a free hand, swept their packs right back onto the ground._

 

 

 

_***_

 

 

 

Lin strode up to the huge gate in the mountainside. It was good to get out of the city for a few hours, even if this was an important errand in its own right. Everything was returning to normal there—the traffic, the petty crime, though gang activity was all-but nonexistent. The refugee camps were nearly emptied, save for a small community of whack-jobs who liked living in earth huts out in the boonies and decided to make a permanent settlement. Less people for her to deal with. In a lot of ways, her city was better off than it had been in years.

There were no teenagers—okay, twenty-somethings at this point—putting conflict between her work and her burgeoning social life. No revolutionary movements sweeping the city, no problems with the Spirit Wilds...

It's not that she was bored. Of course not. And not that she was lonely. She'd lived alone for years and it was fine. Just like Mom had, alone in her swamp. Perfectly healthy.

It certainly had nothing to do with the necklace sitting on her night stand.

She approached the White Lotus guards manning the massive door. “Lin Beifong. I'm expected.”

“Chief Beifong,” one of them greeted, as the door opened just enough for her.

The entry procedure was time consuming but routine. Sign this, follow him, let her pat you down, sign this too...

News kept filtering in from the Fire Nation, slowly, over the past week, though not much substantive other than Tenzin was alive. She still hadn't heard a thing from Zaofu, but the mountains between the two cities made radio communication difficult.

Kya and her sister were probably fine, though.

They'd both survived fights with the man she was coming to see, after all.

The elevator ride down seemed excessive, but then, so had the other Red Lotus prisons. How much time and money went into keeping people like Zaheer locked up? After everything he'd done? Sometimes, she wondered what the point was, keeping the worst of the worst like that alive.

Of course, Zaheer had helped Korra save the city. That certainly wasn't redemption, but it was... something.

When she got to Zaheer's cavernous cell, he was just as Korra had described him. Hair and beard long and wild, his clothes loose on him as he floated in chains.

“Another visitor,” he said, eyes still closed. “Twice in the same year.” He opened his eyes, and smiled. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Lin snorted. “Pleasure, nothing. You don't want to talk to me any more than I want to talk to you.”

“Why should I not?”

“Oh, I don't know. Because I'm all for law and order, and you're a crazy anarchist? Or maybe because my sister killed your three-eyed girlfriend.”

Zaheer let out a breath that was barely even a sigh. “Why should I hate you for supporting the delusion you suffer? Corrupt governments are a disease, but one does not hate the patient for being ill. As for P'li... her death was lamentable, and she felt as if she gave my life meaning. But, though I miss her presence, letting go of my love for her has brought me closer to enlightenment.”

Lin snorted. The man's monotone was certainly unsettling, but she was a metalbender and he was in chains. She almost hoped he tried something. “More like it finally made you crazy enough the Earth wants nothing to do with you and let you go.” She waved the sparring aside. “Look, I'm not here to trade insults.”

“Nor am I.”

She growled. “Tell me who you're talking to in the Spirit World!”

Zaheer frowned. “Spirits.”

Lin crossed her arms, pacing a wide circle around him “Spirits. Really.”

“Those that wish to speak with me. Yes.”

“You're not talking to any of your Red Lotus agents.”

“Isn't that a pointless question? If I say no, you have no reason to believe me, and if I say yes, you have no way to stop me.”

“You might be surprised,” she threatened.

Zaheer chuckled, clearly not intimidated in the slightest. “As it happens, I have been following world affairs, but allowing them to run their course. The revolution I began cannot be stopped. If I am correct and the natural order I so believe in is meant to hold sway, the momentum of what I began will continue. However, if I sat here, safe from the world and orchestrating everything as I saw fit, then I would become the very thing which I fight against. I know with my very soul that I am right, but it is not my place to impose my will upon the world.”

“Like you did with Korra?” Lin spat.

“I was attempting to correct a mistake millennia old. The era of the Avatar has been one of stagnation and oppression. But there, too, I am winning. The world is spinning out of her control. Soon, it will be beyond anyone, no matter how powerful, to maintain the order that has kept us all in chains.” He flew toward her, until his own chains strained against him. Their faces were inches apart. “Others have taken up my mantle.”

Lin's footsteps stopped. She took a step toward him, glaring. “Who?”

Zaheer laughed. “It's fitting, really. Just as my love for P'li kept me from achieving my goals, Korra's love for Asami Sato blinds her to what is going on. Future Industries is well named—it is building my future for me.”

“You don't know what you're talking about,” she said, reflexively. Too much so.

“Perhaps,” Zaheer said. “But airships? Satomobiles? Mecha tanks? Guns? The world couldn't have imagined these things a hundred years ago. Every step of 'progress' Miss Sato makes is another step toward chaos, and true freedom. The Avatar could never fight that, much less while she's in love with the person pushing so much of it forward.”

That... almost made sense. Which meant it was time to go. She'd gotten as much of an answer as she was going to anyway. “Just watch yourself, Zaheer. We're going to find a way to see what you do in the Spirit World. If you step out of line, marching Korra in here to take your bending is not off the table.”

“What happens to me is not important,” he said, folding his legs back up, closing his eyes. She turned, stalking back toward the door. “The world is changing. Societies crumble. Stifling traditions fail, leaving freedom in their place. Why, two women are even free to fall in love, now. Tell me that is wrong.”

Lin scowled at him as the door slid shut.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Mako grunted, lugging the heavy basket through the door of the lower-ring hovel. Faded tarpaulin served as curtains and door both, so they'd arranged their schedules so somebody was always 'home.'

Which meant there was always somebody to report back to.

He set the basket down, cracking his back.

“Thought we agreed, no bringing work home with you,” Shu said, eating a bowl of rice.

“This isn't work. This is laundry. _Somebody_ has to do it.”

“Ah,” Shu said. His chopsticks paused. “Nobody suggested that person be Tsu Ying, did they?”

“Did you notice Wei's new limp?”

Shu snorted, scratching his mustache. “I thought he was just getting into character.”

“You should really pay more attention to your family, _dad_ ,” Mako said with a chuckle.

“If I did, I'd have words with that good-for-nothing wife of yours. Doesn't cook or anything.”

“You said she's a terrible cook.”

“Hey, we're a very traditional family.”

Mako rolled his eyes. He and Shu had prominent Fire Nation features, but that wasn't unheard of—Fire Nation blood had been spread around the Earth Kingdom during the Hundred Year War in more ways than one. Wei and Tsu Ying both had more traditional Continental looks, but Tsu Ying's dark complexion was way too much of a contrast for her to be Mako's blood relative.

There were other justifications as well, but she'd said she was happy enough with the plan and left it at that. “So,” Shu asked, as Mako sat on the hard cot and worked his sore shoulders. “Learn anything interesting?”

“Doing the laundry? No,” he sighed. “Seems like everybody oyster clams up when I got there. Maybe I exude 'cop' too much?”

Shu glanced at him, chewing. “Were the quiet ones, perhaps, mostly women?”

Mako paused, pulling off his shoes. His nice boots were hidden away—they'd have stood out like a flare. The new ones fit badly, and his feet were throbbing. He crossed one leg up, so he could massage his arch. “I suppose so, yeah. Maybe about two thirds? They kept watching me, and the men kept glaring.”

Shu nodded. “Mako... I'm told by reasonably reliable sources that you're... oh, what was the phrase? 'Tall, dark, and sweat-inducing.'”

Mako chuckled, hearing the words in Tsu Ying's voice. “She has been taking this role play pretty seriously.”

Shu froze, staring at him. “Mako, you _do_ know that she—”

“—is attracted to me? Yeah. I'm not completely hopeless.” Anymore. “But that doesn't matter right now. She's a professional. We're on a mission.”

“Uh huh.” he leaned forward in his chair. “And you're right. I've been stationed with her a couple years now, she's smart and capable and keeps her head. I'd rather not see her get hurt.”

Mako sensed the shift in the conversation, setting his feet on the ground, hands on his knees. “You think I'd hurt her?”

“Maybe not on purpose. But... tell me. What do _you_ think about her?”

“I think...” he stared at the corner, where she kept her things. They shared a cot, but he'd been careful to keep a respectful distance so far. Though they were often closer when they woke up. “I think this isn't the time to be thinking about it.”

Shu crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.

Mako sighed. “She's... I like having her around. She's fierce and strong, she's fun but without impacting her competence. A good soldier, someone good to fight beside.”

“And that's all?”

Mako opened his mouth, a strained sound coming out. “No. No, she has these... these soft moments, now and then. She looks at me a certain way, stands just so, and suddenly... there's a woman there.”

“A pretty one?”

“You've seen her.”

“I've seen you, and _I_ don't think you're pretty. Some disagree.”

Mako rolled his eyes. “I... try not to notice it. We're on a mission. This isn't the time to complicate things.”

“Right...” Shu said, skeptically. “Look, son...” he leaned forward, but stopped as a shadow fell across their tarp door.

Tsu Ying barreled in, grinning. “Hey, boys. Check this out.” She flicked something toward Mako with her thumb.

He caught it in the air.

A Red Lotus tile. “You got a lead,” he said, standing.

“I got a lead,” she beamed, rushing toward him, her arms rising. “All I have to do is spend a night with the guy.”

Breath hissed through his teeth.

She stopped short, her hands grasping his biceps. “Guarding something, I mean. There's a meeting tomorrow night. Representatives from all the workhouses in this ward. They want me to guard it.”

“That's great,” he said, sighing through a chuckle, not sure where his hands should go. “We'll pass word to Wu. Make sure nobody in the provisional government tries to do anything.”

She snorted, tilting her head. “Their security service is a joke. With the old Dai Li disbanded, _nobody_ is paying attention to the underside of things here.”

Couldn't argue with that. “How are you getting the rest of us in?”

“I don't have _that_ big of an in. Wei I might be able to vouch for as earthbending muscle, but...”

“Can't really explain what a firebender is doing here,” Mako sighed.

Tsu Ying seemed to realize her hands were still on his arms. She took a heavy seat on the bed, yanked her shoes off, tossing them beside his. She pulled off each sock with a strained grunt, followed by a moan of release that made him feel the need to look away.

“You too?” he chuckled. “Perhaps we should put the extra money from this side job of yours into better shoes.”

“I dunno,” she said, rubbing her feet. “I rather thought we'd save up for a place in the middle ring. Big enough for children.”

Mako chuckled. “Here, scoot back,” he said, sitting down and taking one of her feet in his hands. He pressed his thumbs up into the arch.

She closed her eyes, sighing. “I knew I married you for a reason.”

“Whelp, close enough to my shift,” Shu said, making his way out the door. “Perhaps a little early, but I've got a few stops to make.”

“Don't care,” Tsu Ying said, waving him gone with the back of her hand.

Shu chuckled, giving Mako's hands a significant look.

Mako just shrugged, and jerked his head, pointing him out the door.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Kuvira looked nearly like her old self, after a week of good food and rest. She strode into the warlord's forested encampment with an imperious air, her back straight, her hands clasped behind her. She left her guards with the jeeps, walking between the tents and the trucks and the motorcycles, estimating numbers, noting their weaponry. There were even a few biplanes nestled by the edge of the wood, where a flat prairie would let them take off. Interesting.

The fighters recognized her. And they whispered.

Her army had suppressed ruffians like this. Some of them had probably deserted her forces, after news of her defeat in Republic City. If they decided, _en masse_ , to rush her, there would be little she could do.

She paid them no concern. Cowering inside a circle of guards would only show that she feared them, only let them know they could hurt her.

Kuvira's gaze passed over the army that meant to siege Zaofu, and she saw nothing.

They felt it, and let her pass.

Good thing they did not realize that's what she felt inside, as well.

Her empire was gone. She knew, fight as she might, she would never get the support she needed to reclaim it.

Her reputation, her good name as the Great Uniter, that was gone too. Only the most fervent—or the most easily cowed—would ever follow her again. She still had some holdouts of support, but in the end, all she'd done was create another faction on the Pai Sho board of the continent.

Bataar...

She'd made her choices. Somehow, she'd survived them. If all she had left was intimidation and a rump of her army, well...

She would make do.

Kuvira reached a large tent at the center of the camp. Six guards watched her approach from the entrance, four drawing swords, two taking earthbending stances. “I am here to speak to your leader,” she said.

“Perhaps he does not wish to speak to you,” one of the earthbenders said.

Kuvira arched an eyebrow, looking at him as an annoyance more than an impediment. “The four of you with swords? You might as well be unarmed. Though I am thankful for the nearby metal to bend at your comrades.”

The non-benders shifted, warily. The earthbender who spoke tightened his glare.

“You know my reputation. You know I took the city you're seeking to siege by winning a bending duel with the Avatar. Do you really think that the two of you can keep me out of a tent?”

“Hold on,” one of the swordsmen said before the earthbender could speak. He ducked inside.

Kuvira turned, surveying the camp as she waited.

“General Fong will see you.”

General Fong? She nodded boredly, stepping into the tent.

When she had first gone to Ba Sing Se, with a troop of her Zaofu metalbenders, riots had destroyed much of the city's military infrastructure. Three of the members of the Council of Five, the leaders of the Earth Kingdom military and the closest thing to leadership the country had had left, were presumed dead, among them General Yi-Won Fong.

This was not that man.

He bore perhaps a passing resemblance to the photos she'd seen, true, but he was too young. A grizzled beard no doubt covered a chin that would have given him away. But more than that, his bearing was undisciplined, unmilitary. The Council of Five may have been bunglers, but the one thing they had excelled at in the decades since the end of the Hundred Year War was drilling and precision.

That camp in the woods? The cluttered mess of this command tent?

This man was a warlord.

But a clever one.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Funny. I was going to ask you the same.” She metalbent a metal weight from his camp desk, examining it in her gloved hand.

'General Fong' pursed his lips, but said nothing.

“You've cut off Zaofu from the outside world. You take measures to delay its allies discovering the situation. Yet you have not moved against it. Why?”

Her opponent stalked around the table, a predator, sizing up an unfamiliar one. “Perhaps I intended to liberate you?”

Hmm. She'd expected bluster to begin with, not proposed submission. “Are you offering to put yourself at my disposal, then? I would rather have thought you'd have presented yourself at my camp, were that the case, rather than the other way around.”

He laughed. “Cute. Don't overestimate your position. I respect your abilities, but more to the point, I respect the size of your army. When it pulled out of Zaofu, I'd rather assumed it was marching to link up with your loyalists around Ba Sing Se.”

Ah. When he'd discovered Nyota had lingered, he suddenly feared being caught between two enemy forces. “Yet you linger here. Every day that passes, your advantage wastes away. This is not the boldness won your battle at Reilei Pass.”

“There... I believe you are mistaken. I was never in a battle there.”

She arched an eyebrow, nodding in acknowledgment. He'd done his research at least. Why General Fong, then?

“Apologies. Would you prefer Huan Bridge?”

He thought for a moment, nodding, frowning. Not sure what to think. Good.

“So let me ask again: what are your intentions here?”

“Take Zaofu,” he said gruffly.

“Yes, but what then?”

“That would... depend on what it cost me.”

Ah yes. Shrewd, very shrewd. “I see. Perhaps, then, an arrangement can be reached.”

'General Fong' folded his arms. “An arrangement. You would barter away a city you no longer possess?”

“I've already taken what I wished from Zaofu. Besides, I arrived there a prisoner, and I walked out myself. Don't imagine I lack influence there. Now. Tell me. Where are you going with this? This is more than a raid, obviously. Do you intend to hold the city? What then, afterwards?”

He paced away, not quite turning his back toward her. “My... grandmother was married to Earth King Kuei's second son. That fool Wu may have had a stronger claim to the throne, but he's abdicated, and even ignoring that, his weakness has proven him incapable of leadership.”

“We can agree on that,” she said, examining the map on his desk. It was quite similar to her own, dotted with carved figurines in a proposed battle plan. “I see why you might hesitate around the woman who abolished the monarchy.”

“Only to set yourself up as Empress.”

“You worry we fight for the same prize.”

“Frankly, yes.”

Kuvira smirked. “Perhaps, ultimately. My force is larger and better trained and equipped than yours. But I must concede that wiping you out now would waste resources I cannot spare.”

“We can agree on that,” he said back.

Kuvira nodded, and turned to face him. “You are welcome to Zaofu. I wash my hands of the place. I have vanishingly few friends northward. Everything between here and the United Republic is yours.”

He eyed her suspiciously. “And what about you?”

“For a trifling price, I will decamp my forces and march east tomorrow. If you fear tangling with me now, I imagine you will be even more hesitant once we're fortified in Omashu.”

General Fong nodded, slowly. “And what would this 'trifling price' of yours be?”

“Half of your planes.”

“Don't be ridiculous.”

“And the pilots, of course.”

“They're the best advantage I have!”

“And you'll be able to make as many as you like once you have Zaofu.”

“Which I may need them to take.”

“Which is why I would leave you half. Half of your planes, and total dominance of this theater.”

He scowled, scratching his beard. “One third. And I get to keep the jeeps you rode in on, since you'll be flying back.”

Her smile was a little more honest than she cared to admit. She held out her hand.

He shook it.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

General Iroh strode into President Raiko's office, as ordered. The President offered him a smile. “General, good of you to come on such short notice.”

“I am, of course, at your disposal,” Iroh said, taking a seat across from Raiko. His relationship with Raiko was not as troubled as some, but neither was it precisely friendly. Iroh kept himself deliberately apolitical in his adopted nation, and Raiko by and large followed his advice on military matters. So far, it had worked. “Is there news from the Fire Nation?”

Raiko down straightening papers on his desk. “Well, yes. But I have an important domestic matter to discuss with you first.”

Iroh crossed his arms. Raiko liked to control the flow of information a bit too much for his liking—perhaps that made sense for public consumption, but for his closest advisors, too? “Very well then. How can I help you, Mister President?”

The bespectacled man found the paper he was looking for. “Ah, yes. I was examining the dispositions of what portion of Kuvira's army we still have in custody. Thousands of men and women who have helped rebuild the city, quite a few flooding us with petitions to allow them to resettle here.”

“I think it is a good idea, especially for those who've volunteered to help. They already have some stake in our city. But how is this a military question?”

Raiko folded his hands together, setting them before him on the table. “Because the bulk of this army still wants to return home. They are growing restive.”

Iroh stifled a sigh. He'd warned Raiko about this weeks ago, but the President had dithered. “Without the protection of Kuvira's army—or the threat of it, in some cases—all the problems the Earth Kingdom fell into three years ago are coming back to the surface. We've clearly learned that allowing instability to fester around us is bad for our long term security.” Something he'd been saying for years, but hopefully the lesson had finally taken.

“Indeed. And we have neither the resources, nor, frankly, the will to muster an armed force of our own large enough to stabilize the rest of the continent. So, let us pursue a thought experiment: what if we took some portion of Kuvira's army, and equipped them as peacekeepers?”

Iroh raised an eyebrow. “You wish to rearm the force that just tried to conquer us.”

“Under orders from their defeated leader. Kuvira's out of the picture now. And as I said, at this point, it is a thought experiment. But what are our other options? These are thousands of foreign citizens. We could not absorb that many at once, even if most of them wished to become Republic citizens, which most do not. If we simply release them on their own recognizance, nothing is to stop the less desirable elements from falling back into the warlordism and banditry that Kuvira pulled them from to begin with.”

“If we arm them and send them on their way, we could have the same problem,” Iroh said. “Only now, we would have armed them.”

“Yes, that would be the concern. Which is why I called you in. Can you think of any way to make this concept workable? United Republic officers, perhaps? Breaking up their current units? Would it be wiser to send troops back to secure the areas they hail from, or would that make mischief more likely?”

Raiko had, at least, thought through many of the potential problems. And, loathe as Iroh was to admit it, he was right—they couldn't keep the army under guard indefinitely. It hadn't looked so bad when the city's own population was stuck in a camp as well, but now... “When it comes down to it, the men and women who fought for Kuvira did so either because they were forced, or because they wanted to put their country back together and this was their only option. The latter, we may be able to trust, though the question of who leads them and under what authority comes to mind. The provisional government in Ba Sing Se uses Kuvira's troops, but their authority ends at the Outer Wall. Perhaps if we turned the forces over to them?”

“That would be... rather generous of us, considering how much damage their soldiers caused and how much we have spent holding them. Though, the good will it would foster... yes, something along those lines might be ideal. Would you consider a temporary appointment to lead such a force?”

Iroh chuckled, and Raiko's brow rose. “Apologies. But I am already on semi-permanent loan to the United Republic from the Fire Nation; being loaned again would look rather peculiar.” Not to mention, rather poor on his record.

“Hmm, fair enough. If we pitch it as a multinational force, or leave you in command until you hand it over to their authority, that would look quite a bit better. Have your people begin working on the details.”

“Yes, sir,” Iroh said. “If... there is nothing further, you said there was news?”

Raiko sighed. “Yes. And I am sorry for discussing that first, but given what it is, the reverse order may not have been nearly as productive.”

Iroh tensed in his seat. “Sir?”

The President took a breath, then shook his head. He couldn't meet Iroh's gaze. “We received confirmation a short while ago. Your grandfather, Lord Zuko, has been killed.”

He ran that through his head several times, working hard to parse each word, struggling to understand what the President was trying to tell him.

Zuko. His grandfather. Who'd always had a wise word to give, or a sweet when his mother wasn't looking. Who'd encouraged his military studies, even when his mother had threatened to disown him. Who had fought not simply to end a war that had raged for a century, but to build a lasting peace.

“I am so sorry for your loss,” Raiko said.

Iroh nodded, distantly, and left the office without a word.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gasp! Something besides bending Asami can't do! Sew... and ignore her thirst of Korra. 
> 
> The Zaheer scene -- honestly I'd never intended for him to be in this fic, but when I realized the Red Lotus plotline actually made MORE sense if he was involved in it, I had to at least address the issue. I'm glad I did, too, because I love how that scene turned out! For somebody who was only tangentially involved in the planning of this fic, I'm getting a ton of work out of Lin and it's great. 
> 
> Likewise, Mako's side-plot isn't at all what I intended but it's just lovely to write. With everything he learned from Korra and Asami, and without dating somebody at the center of major world power structures, we actually get to see him grow to like somebody organically. Pretty neat for a character I introduced for a few expository lines! 
> 
> Oh crap Kuvira is back. The Earth Territories are a gigantic mess, and more conflicts like this are certainly arising all over the place. 
> 
> And Raiko... is just an ass. I didn't mean for that to happen either but it did and I went with it. He's right that these issues are all super-complicated, but as to whether he's the person best equipped to deal with them? Eeeehhh... 
> 
> Thanks for all your patience everyone! And I hope some of you got a chance to enjoy my Korrasami week stuff. The semester is... not lightning up exactly, but a few of the boss fights are behind me. Somebody declared November Korrasami month though, so I'm not sure if I'll put my writing energies to that or into pushing forward on March. 
> 
> As always, please consider commenting if anything seemed great or fun or wonderful or annoying or off or basically elicited any response from you whatsoever. I love hearing from you all, and I'm loving the upswing in fandom interest since the comic was announced! 
> 
> Next time: our main ladies will be back on-screen. I can't attest as to how happy they'll be, though.


	19. Come Apart

_Neither of them had said anything. Neither had commented on their waning food supply, the sandpapery feel their clothes were beginning to take on. Neither of them mentioned everything that still needed to be done, back home._

_But, quietly, mutually, it was decided._

_It was time to start back._

_They held hands, retracing their steps—though Asami's adventure with the little flower guys made taking the same path impossible. Korra knew she should probably be worried about that. Asami had probably thought of it days ago. Just..._

_This had been the best time of her life. Exploring the terrifying depth of her love and regard for this woman, feeling the warm embrace of somebody who loved Korra for Korra, not because she was supposed to, not because she was the Avatar. Because in spite of everything Korra did wrong, in spite of coming between her and her father and stealing her boyfriend and leaving her for years... Asami Sato loved her._

_It was still difficult for Korra to accept._

“ _Thank you for suggesting this,” Asami said, twisting Korra's hand in hers. She was thinking along the same lines, it seemed. “This has been... it's like a dream.”_

“ _I'm not sure I want to wake up.”_

_Asami rolled her eyes. “I... don't always have good dreams. There's always so much to be anxious about, so much I've... lost. This last week or so, this... this. Us. I don't want to lose that. I've wanted this for years, and spirits just saying this sounds like I'm rushing you, forget I—”_

“ _Hey,” Korra said, stopping, pushing Asami's hair behind her ear, staring into her eyes. “It's okay. You can tell me anything, Asami. I want you to.”_

_Asami bit her lip. “I... I'll try.”_

_Korra considered that a moment. As eager as Asami clearly was, there were also things she hesitated about. Areas where she was sensitive. Still. “You'll try?”_

_Those green eyes winced. “Sorry. I mean... Korra it's hard. I've been alone for so long. I've had to deal with_ everything _by myself. Most people my age are finishing their education, or looking for an apartment, or...” She shrugged. “Me? I'm running a multinational company and moonlighting as a member of the Avatar's entourage. I may_ make _it look easy, but that's because, if I looked weak, if I faltered for just a minute...” She snapped her fingers._

_Korra pulled her into a hug. “That's why I want to be there for you. I mean, I can't give you business advice, but I can be_ there _.”_

“ _And I want that,” Asami whispered. “I do. I just... I've never had it. I don't know how. I've learned... I've learned over the years to be careful. Oh so careful. You can't take back a punch once thrown, and you can't take back a word, once said.”_

_How could she respond to that?_

_Just to make things more confusing, Asami chuckled. “I spent... I spent so long, wanting to be part of your life. Somehow, I never considered the fact that I'd have to let you into mine.”_

_Korra pulled away, enough to see Asami's eyes. “Do you want that?”_

_Asami nodded at once. “In every way I can. That just... doesn't mean I know precisely how to do that. And honestly...”_

_Her eyes began to waver away. Korra shifted to stay in front of them. “Honestly?”_

_Asami took a deep breath. “Honestly, I'm scared. Everyone... everyone always leaves me. Even when they come back, it's just so I can lose them again. You're not... Korra, if we... the way I feel about you... I_ can't.  _I want to let you in, I want to so much, but I'm afraid... if I lose you too...” she slumped. “...I won't have anything left.”_

_Korra put an arm around Asami's shoulder, guiding them to the ground and wrapping herself around the taller woman. “You've never told anyone that, have you?”_

_She shook her head. Of course not. Who would she have told?_

“ _It's not... It's not that I don't want to do this. I need this. If I ran away from it, I might as well run straight in front of a Satomobile because I'd spend the rest of my life regretting it. But... how can you make me feel so strong but so weak at the same time?”_

_Korra pressed the side of her head against Asami's, her arm curled around to run the backs of her fingers on Asami's neck. “All these years I thought, I was this wreck who didn't deserve to be happy, that it would have been cruel to inflict myself on somebody else. But even the unstoppable Asami Sato gets scared.”_

“ _Of course I do,” she murmured. “It means I'm paying attention.”_

_She kissed Asami's cheek. “You know I'll always be there for you, right?”_

“ _But what if... what if we don't work?”_

“ _What if we_ do _?”_

_Asami chuckled, squeezing Korra's thigh. “I suppose... a savvy businesswoman knows when the potential reward outweighs the risk.”_

_Korra breathed into Asami's hair, closing her eyes. “You're amazing, Asami Sato. And you make me believe that I am too. This'll be a big change for both of us. But we'll figure it out together, right?”_

“ _If you can't fix it, I can?” Asami asked._

“ _What, are you trying to make that our slogan?”_

_She snickered._

_Korra smirked. “Well, it's true enough though. And that'll go for both of us. You were there for me when I was broken.”_

“ _I... sort of,” Asami said. “Korra, I was there for_ me. _”_

“ _I get that,” Korra said. “Which is why, if you're ever down, if you're ever hurt, I'll be there. Because_ I _need to be.”_

_Asami took both of her hands, eyes trembling. “This... this is really going to work, isn't it?”_

_Korra grinned, feeling a lump in her own throat. “I've never been more sure.”_

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Kya had just woken up, an hour before sunset. She ate the flavorless mush somebody gave her, chewwing mechanically. She'd been worried when she'd gone to sleep after first light this morning, and she was worried still.

Korra wasn't doing well.

She was healthy enough, sure. She certainly wasn't in any immediate danger. Kya hadn't ever seen anyone fight like Korra had the last several days. Providing cover for Nuktik and Eska and Kya herself as they spirtbent—she and Eska had picked it up quickly in the face of the dark spirit onslaught, though Korra's father had yet to figure it out. When Korra bothered to cleanse them, she would encircle dozens at once, hovering in the air, the Avatar state's energy crackling around her.

More often, though, she would simply scoop as many spirits as she could into an air vortex and hurl them back where they'd come from.

That probably wasn't helping anything. The spirits certainly wouldn't be hurt by it, though it did give the other waterbenders room to cleanse. And it served as a continual demonstration of her power over the city behind them.

Honestly, disarming them had probably been demonstration enough. After the army had terrorized Kuodan and its workers under command of that snake Taka for a week. Korra had taken one look at Zuko's body, one long, searing look. Then she'd risen into the sky, swooped over the town, and metalbent the rifle out of every single soldier's hands. They writhed in the air about her, gathered into a mass, and she'd roared flame, crushing them all into a jagged, charred wreck.

Much like Kuoadan.

Once she was roared out, Korra had hurled the mass into the ground outside the city wall, hard enough to shake the ground. The spirits turned their own violence against it, spending nearly a full day systematically annihilating what Korra had already destroyed. It had given them time to regroup.

Korra barely said a word since. A few barked orders, a few pointed questions.

And every time she stumbled into a rifle she'd missed, her eyes got that much harder.

The night after the spirits had exhausted themselves on the gathered guns, the attack that came was weak, those spirits easily pacified. But the night after, more had come, and after a few days, the assault lasted until morning. Those waterbenders able to pacify the spirits were forced to work in shifts to last the whole night now—Caluqtiq wished to join in spite of the wound in her side, but Nuktik had had Bolin earthbend her to her bed.

Of course, Korra fought through the night, in the Avatar State the whole while.

That couldn't be healthy.

None of this was healthy.

The choking air, smoke and blood and whatever that putrescence that came from the killed spirits.

The simmering hate, poisoning the town.

The greed and cowardice that started all of this.

Kya sighed.

She wished Lin were here.

A ruckus outside caught her attention. Cheers and shouts and one man screaming.

She looked at her meal with a sigh. “Can't a woman enjoy one meal without a crisis butting into it?” Given the quality of this particular meal, enjoyment was never an option. But she knew she needed to eat.

Taking the bowl with her, Kya stepped outside to see what was going on.

Korra, eyes hard but not glowing, was dragging Boss Taka by the collar of his shirt as scores of jeering locals looked on. Angry shouts were hurled, along with some stones, mostly deflected by Taka's flailing arms. Those soldiers looking on did so impassively; even if they'd still been armed, few looked eager to help the man.

Frowning but forcing herself to down another bite, Kya scanned the crowd. He shouldn't be hard to—there. Tonraq, walking near the end of the odd procession, worry clear on his face.

Dancing between people without losing her bowl or her footing was difficult and more than a little acrobatic, but Kya made it over to him soon enough. “What's going on?”

“Korra found out what's been going on here,” Tonraq said. “How things got to be this bad. I'm... not sure it's fair to blame everything on one man, but all the major decisions ran through him.” 

Kya watched him struggling in Korra's implacable grip. “What... what's she going to do?”

Tonraq shrugged, helpless. “She isn't talking to me, Kya.”

They followed Korra and the crowd out the gate. Korra continued walking, ignoring Taka's strangled pleas. “She's taking all of this pretty hard. Tenzin is still so weak, and Zuko...”

“This isn't like her though. She shuts people out when she's unsure of herself, but what's to be unsure of now?” 

“You... you know where all those rifles came from, right?” 

The Southern Chief shook his head.

“Asami invented them.” 

He stroked his short beard. “You don't think she blames Asami for all this?”

“She's not talking to me, either,” Kya sighed. “In fact, the one person I think she would talk to is the one she's most unsure about.” 

Korra reached a point, nearly halfway between the city and the forest. The sun was dipping against the horizon—if it was anything like the last several nights, spirits would be pouring out come nightfall. Most of Kuodan's people had remained in or near the wall—none wished to risk being caught outside.

She twisted, hurling Taka along the ground in front of her. He scrambled onto his knees, hands together, begging.

A few sure-footed thrusts, and stone rose up to hold Taka's feet. His eyes were wide and shaking. Korra looked past him, above him, as if staring down somebody who wasn't there.

Then she turned, and strode away.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

After a week of fitful sleep and an unstill heart, Jinora was at her wit's end.

Late in the morning after she'd spirit projected to help save her father, Tan had sent someone to check on her, and found her passed out on the floor beside her cot. They'd rushed her to their healer, and still she didn't wake up until she was submerged in the healing pool.

Jinora hadn't been able to meditate since.

She would close her eyes, slow her breathing, feel her heart beat, empty her mind...

...bloodied streets, bodies discolored in decay...

...gunshots rending the air, dying spirits shrieking...

...thin, rattling weakness in her father's breath...

There was no peace to be found.

Last she had seen, Kya was still attempting to heal Tenzin. She'd said it looked promising. But she could feel his spirit, how flickery it felt. Like a candle at the end of it wick.

Jinora walked aimlessly along the Northern fort's battlements. The violet sky above was all calm swirls, slow yet unpredictable, shifting as spirits whizzed about.

Her gaze came earthward, toward the towering centerpiece of the valley. The Tree of Time stood empty, its roots plunging deep into the Spirit World, even spread out through the physical one.

She nodded, a decision made, and calmly descended down the wooden stairs.

Tan happened to notice her, angling his arthritic stride toward her. She could have done as she wished without his permission, of course, but given the courtesy he and his people had treated her with, she opted to keep him informed.

“Master Jinora,” he greeted. “You are feeling well?”

He'd been fawning over her in a grandfatherly sort of way, which might have been endearing if she weren't so preoccupied. “Not as well as I would like. I am hoping that meditating in the Tree of Time may calm my spirit, and allow me to project again.”

Tan sighed. “You are, of course, welcome to come and go as you please, but I do not think that will help. The Tree of Time... heightens connection, true, but that includes connection within yourself. If something within is in turmoil, that turmoil shall only be felt more deeply.”

His comforting words were meant to dissuade her. Instead, her gaze only hardened. “If something within is in turmoil, then I must overcome it.”

Tan looked at her skeptically. “That may be so, but should you perhaps not do so somewhere... steadier?”

“I've been trying that for the last week,” Jinora said, instantly aware of the snappishness of her tone, and softening it. “I've been... less successful than I'd like. This is a poor time for me to be suffering this setback.”

“Perhaps. Or maybe it is the proper time.”

It sounded like a platitude, and a particularly meaningless one at that—but there was some truth to it. When she and her siblings had been looking for Korra, she'd tried time and again to locate her with meditation and spirit projection. Yet at the very time she was failing to find her, Korra was training with Toph, and regaining the strength she would need in the fights to come. Perhaps if she'd found her sooner, Korra would never have gotten the poison out of herself?

And perhaps, if she'd checked on her father's mission instead of spending time with her boyfriend, she could have gotten help to him sooner.

“Master Jinora,” Tan said, a hand gendly touching her shoulder. “You are a very strong and capable person. You are more in-tune with the spirits, and those humans around you, than nearly anyone else I've known. But I do believe you are failing to take something into account.”

Jinora took a steady breath. “What is that?”

“You're still so _young_.” 

Her back hardened. “Tan, I assure you—”

“I mean no offense by that,” Tan said, one hand raised defensively. “As I said, you are extremely capable. But... I've seen it in my own great grandchildren. I remember it myself, years ago. That age where you are so, so ready to take on the world, to show all the adults who always underestimated you that you can take it, that you're ready. That you're strong. And you don't realize the secret that all adults carry with them. That unspoken truth we keep hidden.” 

She narrowed her eyes. “What's that?”

Tan smiled. “Being strong all the time is... impossible. Nobody can do it. Nobody ever has. No warrior, no king, no Avatar. You feel like maybe it's childish, like people will think you're not ready for the real world. Maybe you'll even judge yourself. But we all break down from time to time. We all need space to cry. Unless you want to turn out like Unalaq.”

Jinora took a deep breath. It was... far harder than she wanted it to be. “Thank you, Tan.” She bowed her head toward him. “That... that is very wise. If you will excuse me though, I should retire to my quarters to resume my meditation.”

“Of course,” Tan said. “Meditation is a powerful thing.” 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The old Royal Palace in Ba Sing Se had once held centuries of his ancestors' splendor. For months, after Auntie Hou-Ting's death, it had been looted and despoiled. Kuvira had seen the place cleaned up and renovated into the center of the city's government, but scars of the palace's fall remained. Stained stone here, there a patched doorway.

Even if Wu had taken the throne, this place would never be what it had been, once.

And that was okay. Great, even! Sure, the pomp and attention might have been fun, but Raiko ran a country without any of that, and the United Republic had done more with a fraction of the people and territory than the Earth Kingdom had in centuries.

Though Kuvira had too. Only she did it bad.

Point was, the Earth Kingdom—or whatever they were going to call it—needed a new, modern government to bring it into the new age.

If only he had the slightest idea what that would look like.

Wu's guide finally left him at an antechamber, just outside the towering doors of the former throne room. “Why thank you, sir,” Wu sang, straightening his bow tie and stepping in. “Governor Jing.”

“Your Highness,” the Governor said, rising from his seat but remaining behind his desk. “Thank you for coming.”

Wu still wasn't sure what to think of that. Jing was the man that Kuvira had left in charge of the city in her absence, but after her defeat, he had been surprisingly quick to accept the international plan for reorganizing her empire. Maintaining Wu's royal titles had been his idea as well—if Wu wished to have a say in guiding the direction of his country, and if this convention was to have any shred of legitimacy, hearkening back to his hereditary authority would go a long way.

“Not at all, my good man!” Wu said, shaking his hand, then flopping into the chair opposite him, one leg kicked over the armrest, one arm hooked over the back.

What was he doing?

Wu righted himself in the chair, bowing his head slightly. At least Mako hadn't been there to see it. “Apologies. I'm afraid I don't always display the decorum befitting my... former station.”

Jing gave him a long look as he retook his seat. “As long as it isn't during the convention. In all honestly, given the way the last few generations of Earth Kings and Queens have acted, you were right about in line.”

He gave a contrite nod. “That's... not how leaders should act. I try to be better, but... it's not always easy. I hope... hopefully we can work together and find some way to make sure everyone has responsible leadership. Even if that means lots of leaders! Because, I tell you, having driven across half the country, it might just be too darned big.”

“Well, that's certainly a break from Kuvira's philosophy,” Jing chuckled. Then his tone grew serious. “I just want to make sure you and I are on the same page. Without Suyin Beifong here to act as the third chair, that puts us on an equal footing. If we publicly disagree over something, there is no mechanism to break that stalemate. At the very least, we should retire to discuss between ourselves, so any deal-making or arguing isn't cast in a bad light.”

Wu had his arms crossed, tapping his chin. “Right, sure. OR we can find a third person. Suyin Beifong is widely respected but her concerns have never reached far beyond her own borders. I think everybody agreed on her, like they were all talking to each other and went 'Oh yeah, she's good, we can trust her,' but they didn't think 'hey, who would be the best person to speak for the whole Earth territory,' you know?”

“I... suppose,” Jing said. The skepticism in his voice was not unexpected. “Where are you going with this?”

“Well!” Wu clapped his hands together. “We have all these delegates from all over the place. Maybe all of them can vote to break a tie between us?”

Jing winced. “That... would look rather bad. Two men making all the decisions, then the whole rest of the country gets a say only if we disagree? The power should remain more with the delegates than with ourselves.”

Okay, yeah, after a dictator and an overbearing monarch, Wu saw how that could look bad. “Hmm... well, maybe then we let the delegates pick one person of their own? If I'm here to represent the history and tradition, and you're here to represent the reality of the present, why not let them pick somebody they think best suits their interests going forward? Then it's all symmetrical and and everything!”

Governor Jing shifted in his seat. “That... yes. You and I would still be there to counterbalance this person if they picked somebody radical, but it would give us all a good trial run on this entire representative government idea. We'd have to delay full consideration of governmental proposals until after that selection had been made, and we can't waltz in there and expect the lot of them to make this decision right away.”

“The wait isn't a great thing, yeah. But rushing wouldn't be great either. One time, I wanted a very particular type of soup, but my chef said it would take two hours to make that soup, and I got mad and said I wanted it in half an hour, and he gave me soup but it was just terrible! We don't want to live with bad soup, do we?”

“Um... no. We do not.”

“Right!” Wu leaned back, pleased. “Also, you're still going to do most of the talking in front of the convention right?”

Jing nodded, eyes giving him a half-exasperated look he often got after speaking. His metaphors always made perfect sense, but for some reason nobody seemed to like them.

Wu shrugged to himself. “Any news on the relief force for Zaofu?”

General Jing shook his head. “It will be some time yet before they're close enough to help, honestly, but it's all I could do. Sending more troops wouldn't've made the trip any faster, and we have to have _some_ garrison left in the city. The walls between the rings get chipped away further and further every day, and all the destitution and resentment in the lower rings... even if things had gone perfect since I took over, the problems there are too ancient to clean up overnight, but blame can fall anew every day.”

See? Why couldn't he sound like that?

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

President Raiko stewed the entire duration of the ride to the holding camp. Perhaps— _perhaps_ he'd miscalculated slightly, but there was no way he could have anticipated that General Iroh would resign so suddenly. The man had always shown such a strong sense of duty and loyalty; he'd merely wished to get a cogent and reasoned analysis from him before the tragic news made it difficult. More than reasonable.

Now, he had to arrange the entire Earth Empire military drawdown himself. If he didn't have another ulcer by the end of the month, he would consider it a miracle.

His driver pulled to an abrupt stop as they arrived. Raiko glared briefly, adjusting his glasses and checking his hair in the mirror. “Wait here,” he said, not that his driver would have abandoned him. But it was good to have  _someone_ he knew would take orders like they were supposed to. 

Raiko strode from the car, offhandedly acknowledging the salutes from the soldiers along his path. This wasn't a photo op or a campaign stop—though that would be coming sooner than he liked. He wanted to get this matter settled.

The commandant of the camp, Brigadier Haila stood waiting for him. “Mister President,” she greeted. “Thank you for coming. Would you like to tour the camp?”

“I would not,” he said, gruffly. “Is there somewhere we may speak privately?” 

If Haila was bothered by his terseness, she gave no sign. “Of course, Sir. My office?” She gestured for him to fall in beside her, and he followed her to a nearby building. Unlike all the other hastily-earthbent buildings that comprised the prisoner of war camp, hers was built atop a wooden platform, elevated several feet above the ground. It gave her a wide view, and probably prevented any earthbending mischief from coming up underneath without being heard or spotted.

Without any reporters nearby to catch him, Raiko allowed himself to take the stairs slowly. The last several years since his election had not been great for his health—besides the stress of the job itself, it left him little time to eat well or stay fit. His tailors kept him more in shape than anything else.

When they were finally inside, Raiko watched Haila herself. Ten years his senior, she was a direct descendant from the Fire Nation colonists, and her features favored that side of her heritage to the Earth Nation mother who'd given her her bending. Her hair had gone gray but she was clearly more spry and fit than he. But she was a bender in the military—that was, of course, part of her job.

“How long has it been since you had a field command?” Raiko asked, gesturing her to one of the seats in front of her desk, and taking the other himself. 

“Since my last promotion,” she said, watching him curiously. “There haven't been many opportunities for an officer to distinguish herself, and General Iroh has managed to be present for most of them.” 

Raiko kept himself from frowning. News of resignation had not yet been released. “I see. Do you believe yourself competent for such a task?”

“Yes,” she said immediately. Though there was really no other answer she could give. 

Still, it was the answer he wanted. “The situation out here, all these prisoners... I wish to resolve it. Presumably you have a detailed list of who is in your custody, including a record of their behavior?”

She nodded.

“Good. I would like you and your staff to organize as many of them into functional units as possible. Create a command group for each mixed between Republican and Empire officers, with ours taking precedence. Those that you deem unfit to serve, I'll need a recommendation as to why, but I do not wish to harbor anyone indefinitely.” 

She watched him, her hands on her knees, her face impassive. “Very well. From your tone I take it you want this done as soon as possible?”

“That is correct.” 

“May I borrow some of General Iroh's staff?” 

“You can have all of it,” Raiko said, rolling his eyes. “I want them organized enough to march east in good order and effectively keep the peace while the convention takes place, but not so organized as to get any ideas of their own or cause problems.” 

“That is a difficult balancing act to perform, Mister President.” 

“Are you saying you cannot do it?” 

She paused, again giving him an assessing look. “No, sir. Merely that I will have to use my judgment to navigate between those extremes.”

“And I will naturally empower you to do so.” 

Haila nodded slowly. “If you... wish me to provide for peacekeeping across the former Earth Empire, one large force would be a poor fit. We would be better served to split it into several independently-acting corps, each with its own command staff. It would not merely by my judgment you are trusting.”

“Then I am trusting your judgment to find officers _you_ trust.” 

She kept her expression as flat as he did. He disliked when he couldn't get an easy read on somebody, but he only knew about Brigadier Haila what he'd read in her service record. Still, she seemed reasonable enough. “Alright. Another question, then. Supplies have been tight for this many people, simply remaining in a camp. We'd need even more to move and operate in the field. Even granting that percentage that we shed through turning the undesirables over to their custody and some degree of desertion, that's quite a lot food and materiel.”

Raiko's fingers thrummed against the armrest. Was he supposed to think of everything? “Kuvira must have had a supply chain, and you have most of her officers. Use that.”

Haila licked her lips, shifting in her chair. “That would be ideal, yes. But it has been some time since her defeat. Any supply depots or caches may no longer be as she left them.”

“Find out who took them then. That is just the sort of lawlessness you are meant to be fighting, after all.” Raiko pulled out his watch. The drive out here had taken far longer than he'd expected. “I am not a military man, Brigadier Haila. I trust my senior officers to know their business better than I do.” 

She had a reply to make, but apparently thought the better of it, and merely grunted an affirmative.

It would do.

Raiko put his hands on his knees, and stood. “I trust you shall take care of everything expeditiously. You will, of course, be promoted to a rank and salary befitting... I suppose this would make you a theater commander, if I have my parlance correct?”

“I'm sure you do,” she replied. “Should I direct any further questions to your office, or General Iroh's, or am I to use my own discretion?” 

Raiko, his back already turned toward her, smirked. “Your own discretion, of course. The people of the United Republic have the utmost faith in you.” And if anything went wrong, hers would be the name most associated with it.

That was the important thing.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Asami strode behind the line of conscripts Su had prepared for her, out on the impromptu firing range outside of the... well, they couldn't be called 'domes' at the moment, but outside. A few dozen right now, of the few hundred she had to work with. Compared to the number of soldiers Kuvira's army had to work with, it seemed almost petty—but Kuvira had never dealt with guns before.

She repressed a sneer. If Kuvira showed up on the battlefield, it would be fitting that the precise metalbender find herself cut down by bullets from her guns—but she didn't want to think that way. This wasn't about revenge. She was... she wanted to be above that.

Kuvira was an enemy though. And if the opportunity arose...

Asami turned her attention to one of the Zaofu soldiers. He hefted the rifle clumsily, the butt too close to his neck, his finger too near the trigger. That was the first thing she told them, again and again, keep away from the trigger until you mean to shoot! “Here,” she said, stepping behind him and adjusting his hold, and for that matter, his stance. “Feel better?”

He nodded, watching her nervously.

She gave him a pleasant smile. “You'll do well. Just keep practicing.”

Asami stepped back, watch him draw a bead on his target, finger jerking the trigger back. She shook her head. Most of the recruits weren't this bad, and not everybody picked up new skills as quickly as she did. She knew that, academically, though it was frustrating how often she had to remind herself.

Normally, she would be quietly encouraging. Right now, though, they didn't know how much time they had left. And Asami did know how much ammunition she'd brought with her. All but one of her airships was on its way back to Republic City, stuffed with civilians, and with most of the Air Nation as escort—only Opal had remained behind. At least, if Zaofu fell this time, the loss would not be total. Another week, and more ammo would be on its way.

It was a tough balance—how much practice did Zaofu's defenders need, versus how much would they need to defend the city? Zaofu's defense force and the small White Lotus contingent could not hold it against a concentrated assault. Bumi had given what suggestions he could before he'd left, but made it clear that, barring some outlandish misadventure, the city wouldn't be able to defend itself.

Hopefully, her riflemen would make the difference. Hopefully, General Iroh's relief force was on its way. Hopefully no attack would ever come.

Hopefully, she could go home soon, and find Korra there, and forget about all this.

The long-distance radio still wasn't working. Whoever was attacking must've taken the booster towers down as well, or maybe they'd done something to block the signal? Perhaps a stronger signal in the same common frequency...

She shook herself. No escaping into creativity, not right now. Korra expected her to defend Zaofu. Korra trusted her to make things right. And that's damned well what she was going to do.

A jeep pulled up nearby, Su behind the wheel. She flicked her head, motioning Asami to join her. “How's it going?” Su asked, as Asami sat in the passenger seat.

“Wwwwwell.” Asami replied. “Just like anything else, some have a talent for it, some do not. Those who are hitting their targets easily, I'm cutting down on their practice—normally I'd do the opposite but until we can get a more secure supply of ammunition, I'd rather not waste it.”

Su nodded, her hands still on the wheel. “We're retooling some of our own manufacturing like you suggested, but we don't have all the material on hand. If we can survive all this, I know the surrounding country has what we'll need, but now is not the best time to open a mine.”

Asami chuckled. “I suppose not, no. Along the same vein, I'd like to finally open a Future Industries office here, if you're willing. Our Fire Nation holdings were profitable enough to keep us mostly afloat during the troubles in Republic City, so I figure further diversifying is a good idea.”

The city's matriarch watched her riflemen-in-training. “If this works, I'll build a whole dome for you.”

“Don't think I won't hold you to that,” Asami said.

Su smirked. “It would be an investment. And look at you, anyway—the city could be conquered tomorrow, and you're already years past that.”

“I _am_ the head of Future Industries. It's not just a name.” 

The radio in Su's jeep screeched awake before she could reply. “Sixth octant scout to---! Sixth -------base!

She metalbent the receiver to her hand. “Suyin here. Report.”

Static and a furious engine drowned out parts of the message, but the bulk was far, far too clear: “Massed troops----ortheast! Thous----chin------rds the city! Half------peat, less th----day until----”

Asami leapt out of the jeep. “Pack it up!” she shouted. “Practice is over.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to wordcatchers for beta-ing! 
> 
> Gosh this flashback is really sweet. Everyone always focuses on how hard a time Korra has had, but Asami has had a hard time too! 
> 
> Back in the present, though... yikes, I guess Korra isn't happy. Uh oh. 
> 
> But now that Kuodan has, for better or worse, resolved, what's going on in the rest of the world? 
> 
> Oh. 
> 
> Oh I see. 
> 
> OH. 
> 
> These may be problems.


	20. Parts to Play

“ _So, Korra. Question.”_

“ _Ask away.”_

“ _Are you planning another Spirit World vacation sometime?”_

“ _That... if you want, sure. This has been great. But why?”_

“ _Oh, nothing, I guess. It's just, I'm surprised we haven't gone to see the Tree of Time. It might be easier to get to from the polar portals but... hey, are you okay?”_

“ _What? Of course.”_

“ _Don't 'of course' me. Did you not want to take me there?”_

“ _It's not... Asami, I'll take you anywhere you want.”_

“ _HmMMmm.”_

“ _Not like that!”_

“ _I'm playing you dork. Mostly. But what is it then?”_

“ _It... okay, obviously Zaheer did a number on me. But just a few months before that, fighting Unalaq, nearly losing Raava, having all the previous Avatars ripped away... Sometimes I can accept what happened as a victory, but the cost and the loss were so high. I've only been there once since, and I was desperate, and I came away disappointed. So, yeah, it isn't a place I have many happy associations with.”_

“ _I... see. And I understand. After... A few days before we left, I had an idea. A proposal. Baatar Jr. is going to be in prison for some time. He'll be the first to admit he deserves to be there. Yet, he is an incredibly educated, talented man, and to see his abilities go to waste seemed criminal. So I ran it by President Raiko, and got permission to ask Bataar to consult for Future Industries, while serving out his sentence. It will at least give him something to do. Only...”_

“ _Only?”_

“ _Only... I couldn't bear to go. He's in the same prison my father was in. I would have to meet him in the same visitation room where we played Pai Sho. Where I began to forgive him. How can I... I couldn't go back there. Not yet.”_

“ _If... if you still need to do that, once everything settles down, I could go with you. I mean, if you want. If it would help.”_

“ _I... thank you. I'll think about it.”_

“ _And I guess... maybe the Tree of Time wouldn't be so bad, if you were there. I mean, I was able to face Zaheer again, alone, and if you really want to go—”_

“ _Korra, it's okay. I don't care where we go. I just enjoy spending the time with you. I was curious, since that battle wound up changing the world and all. I love getting to know more about you, and like you said, that was an important fight. Another one I was useless in...”_

“ _You weren't useless! You saved my dad!”_

“ _Your dad is a pretty sturdy guy, Korra. Tell me, if I'd been the one injured, would you have sent Tonraq to make sure I was safe? With everything that was on the line?”_

“ _I... I mean I don't know...”_

“ _I'm not mad, Korra. All I could have done then was gotten myself killed. Instead, I got your father to Katara, and I got to be there when Jinora woke up and let us know you saved the world. I got back to Republic City and I hear all these stories of you, as big as Aang's statue, doing battle for the fate of the world with a force of primal chaos... and I had no part to play in it.”_

“ _You don't sound okay with that.”_

“ _I'm not, I guess. I just... I hate feeling useless.”_

“ _Yeah, I can understand that.”_

“ _Can you?”_

“ _Asami—”_

“ _No, Korra... Look, I'm never going to be anything more than amazed by how much hurt and trauma you survived. You're my hero and you always will be. But you're also a bender._ The _bender. Even when you lost your stuff, you knew what you could have done, you understood what you'd lost. I've never even had that.”_

“ _Wait, wait. You seriously think I don't understand what it's like to feel useless? After Amon took my bending? After having Raava ripped out of me? After you had to spend weeks pushing me around in a_ chair _?”_

“ _That's not what I meant—”_

“ _I_ envied _you. I envied anyone who could walk by herself, change her own clothes, use the damned bathroom without help. I got back on my feet and I got my bending back a little at a time but all I heard about was all the problems the world was having, and how much everybody I knew kept saying, just gently saying, no Korra, it's okay, the world doesn't need you. You're not strong enough.”_

“ _The world did need you!”_

“ _And I couldn't be there for it!”_

“ _I... Korra I'm sorry. I don't want to fight!”_

“ _You think I do?! This is awful!”_

“ _Agreed! I... I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”_

“ _Why not? You thought it.”_

“ _Maybe I didn't think it through. Korra...”_

“ _You think everything through.”_

“ _Doesn't mean I'm always right. You've lost so much, but you always found the strength to build yourself back up, become even stronger than before. I don't think I have that. No matter how hard I train or how hard I try, there will always be fights where I'm just... baggage. Where I'm still just the little girl at the top of the stairs.”_

“ _Asami... you're not, though. Or maybe... okay let_ me _think this through before I say it.”_

“ _Heh, sure.”_

“ _You... okay. I'm the Avatar.”_

“ _Wait, since when? Nobody ever tells me anything!”_

“ _Asami...”_

“ _Alright, alright.”_

“ _I have all this power, all this expectation... I fight hard to deserve it, but it comes naturally. You... everything you've done,_ you've _done. Your big old brain and your big old heart, neither know when to quit. And maybe, maybe that little girl at the top of the stairs is part of it. Maybe going through what she did, awful as it was, gives you that drive to keep pushing and succeeding and being the best at everything. That doesn't make your pain any less, but it's made you exceptional. Sure, you can't bend, but none of us benders could get inside that colossus without your brains. Maybe you didn't fight during Harmonic Convergence, but you're the one that flew us all there.”_

“ _I guess.”_

“ _And... hey you're the one that made me mad and now I'm comforting you? How's that work?”_

“ _Because you're sweet and empathic enough to forgive me?”_

“ _Hmmm... that is flattering. And agreeing with it will likely lead to kisses.”_

“ _Very likely.”_

“ _Well. Okay. Let's not fight again any time soon, though, okay?”_

“ _I'll see what I can do.”  
_

 

 

***

 

 

Opal stood beside her mother and Asami on the northwestern battlement as the army marched into view through a mountain pass.

And grew.

And grew.

It was nowhere near the size of the massive force Kuvira had taken the city with originally. Nor was it as disciplined—Kuvira had put palpable effort into keeping her forces orderly. That sort of exercise of power was meant to intimidate. To win with threat of force without the application of it.

This force didn't have time for that.

“This approach is the most open, but we still have some advantages,” Mother said. “We've prepared several pitfalls and other traps that should, at the least, slow them down as their earthbenders stabilize the ground. Then we can send ours in to harry their flanks. That will slow them down even more.”

“But not stop them?” Opal asked.

Su shook her head. “No. They're not setting up camp, either. Probably they will pause long enough to get into a formation, then come right at us. This force isn't large enough to siege a city, or normally even attack a city like Zaofu, but after Kuvira stripped our defenses...”

“Focus on what we have,” Asami said.

A low drone came over the wind. Opal—and everyone else on the battlement—scanned the horizon, but Asami was the first to spot the source. “Planes,” she pointed at the specks moving against the mountains, coming toward them. “Hopefully they're just scouts, but there's plenty of mischief they could accomplish if we can't contest the skies.”

“I guess that will be my job,” Opal said somberly. They'd just won their city back, and now they had to fight again? “Wish we'd kept some of the other airbenders.” Or that Bolin could be here. If at least, to make her feel better about their odds, about the danger... just better.

“This isn't their fight,” Mother said, absently, watching the army advance. “I won't risk the bulk of the Air Nation over a city.”

This was unfounded aggression. Of course it was the Air Nation's fight! Tenzin had made it their mission to maintain balance, and as a nation that had nearly been wiped out, it was almost a spiritual duty to oppose attacks like this. But like Asami said, focus on what they had. “We don't need airbenders to contest the skies. Can you spare some strong metalbenders, and as many nails and spikes as we can find?”

“I think I can see where you're going,” said Mother. “They'd have to fly awfully low for that to be effective.”

“What if the metalbenders were riding Juicy?” Opal asked.

“They can fly circles around a bison,” Asami said.

“And I can fly circles around them.”

“Just be careful,” Mother said, touching her arm. “You have a fiance to go home to.”

Opal grinned, and pulled her into a tight hug. “You too.” She clutched her hands as she withdrew. “I need help planning the wedding.”

“Opal,” Asami said, and she nodded, letting go of her mother, her gaze lingering a brief moment before glancing at the planes bearing down, the army crashing forward.

“I love you,” Mom said.

Opal swallowed. “You too,” she said, and ran to grab some metalbenders. Zaofu wouldn't fall today, not with Opal here to defend it. Not today. Not again.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tenzin rasped in the bed beside Caluqtiq's. She rose—with the threat apparently over, she was no longer physically restrained—to see how he was doing.

The airbending master still looked terrible. Kya had done what she could for the burns on his face, and said that perhaps a visit to the spirit oasis might let her heal him further. But once he'd heard about Zuko, he thought he might keep the scars. There was a certain poetry to that, Caluqtiq had to admit.

“Cal,” he said, weakly, attempting a smile and mostly succeeding.

“Take it easy,” she said, bringing him water. He wasn't strong enough to drink it from a cup without dribbling, but a little clandestine waterbending kept him from making a mess.

He drank thirstily, and gratefully, his smile a little stronger as she pulled the cup away. “Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Still very, very tired. But better than I was. What is the latest news?”

Caluqtiq bit her lip. She'd been stuck in here through the night, but what she hadn't heard through the walls, she'd been told. She could imagine.

The spirits hadn't attacked the town that night.

Cascading out of the forest, as they had again and again, they were forestalled by Boss Taka's shrieks. They stopped to examine him, still trapped where Avatar Korra had left him.

They descended.

In the morning, there wasn't a hint he'd ever been there. No body, no blood.

The forest was still.

Tenzin took in everything she said quietly, even as she tried to convince herself of the reality. It was over. She struggled to believe it. Part of her didn't—spirits had a long memory. But if the Avatar's... tribute... placated the spirits for now, the battle at least was done.

Still.

“You seem disturbed by Korra's actions,” Tenzin said.

Caluqtiq snorted. “Don't get me wrong, Taka was an ass, and had a hand in everything that happened here. But... still. Does her being the Avatar give her the right to decide who lives and who dies?”

Tenzin grimaced. “Some would argue it does, if anyone can have that right. It is not a decision Korra would take likely, especially now. Though I wonder...”

“Hmm?”

“Taka may not be dead. There is a place in the Spirit World, the Fog of Lost Souls. Those that have most sinned against the spirits are taken there to face their fears and their shame, for all eternity as far as I can tell. Lord Zuko once told me...”

Caluqtiq took his hand as he went silent. “He was in really bad shape, toward the end of the battle. He could barely stand up. I didn't see it myself, but he apparently saw what was happening, saw those soldiers raising their weapons, with me right in front of them, and he firebent himself forward, hurtling past them. He threw himself in the way to save my life.”

Tenzin sighed. “It's not the first time he did that. He saved my mother, too. It's hard to believe he's really gone.”

She nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. “I haven't talked to Nuktik about it yet. He'd been fighting so hard, he's trying to stay strong, but... he's still a child. He spent days with just Lord Zuko to talk to, scared out of his mind. Now...”

“A great deal of healing needs to be done. Perhaps, considering his idolization of my mother, a visit to the South might help?”

Her mouth went dry. “It might. But...” she licked her lips, “it might hurt him more.”

Tenzin raised the eyebrow he had left. “Oh?”

“He...” Caluqtiq turned around knowing they were alone in the room but needing to be sure of it. “Nuktik was born... a little different. He's struggled with it all his life, but most people don't understand, but he's strong, he's so, so strong! His father left us, people refuse to... He's always idolized Master Katara, but I know he also hopes that she can fix him, that she can make him... the way he wants to be.

“But I know she can't. How do I tell him that? How do I tear down his biggest hero and his greatest hope all at once? Especially now?”

This time, Tenzin put his hand on hers. “You've done a remarkable job raising a brave and kind boy, Caluqtiq. But you can't hide this from him forever. Besides, there may be something my mother can do.”

“But what if there isn't?”

“Then... then we'll make the most of it. The North isn't the most accepting place in the world, but Zaofu or Republic City would be far more accommodating, and the Air Nation will be forever in your debt. It might not be perfect, but...”

She sniffed. “I'll... I'll think about it. Thank you.”

Tenzin smiled, his eyes drooping. “Good. Good. If I may ask, though, how is Korra doing through all this?”

Caluqtiq looked away.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Suyin slunk behind the low scrub, a handful of earthbenders at her back. Peering through the bush, she could see the enemy army, spread wide over the plain, holding back as a few dozen figures probed the ground before it.

The enemy's flank was only a few hundred feet away. Soldiers with spears watched her direction, but most shifted on their feet, clearly not expecting any attack.

Every few dozen she could take out now was another few dozen that couldn't hurt her city. But at the same point she couldn't spare a single one of her people.

She surveyed the terrain. A low fold in the ground leading to another stand of brush would allow them to advance closer, but it was narrow and they'd have to stay low. She indicated the spot to the next earthbender in line, motioning him to advance. She split her attention between his advance and the mass soldiers ahead, looking for any sign of alarm.

None came, and she sent her next bender.

Biplanes buzzed overhead. So far, they'd limited themselves to high flights over the city and the battlefield, probably scouting. She caught glimpses of Juicy's white fur from time to time, and if she squinted, could make out an orange speck dancing against the blue sky, but so far Opal hadn't managed to close on any of them.

Su advanced at the rear of her party, and one of her people indicated a rocky outcropping up ahead. Cover was good up to it, but it wasn't big enough to hide all of them. Su picked three of her people to advance toward it, then keep moving forward. Coordinating their attack would be tough, but they should do better if they struck over a wider area.

She crept forward with her remaining four people, splitting two more of them off as they got near. The terrain was flattening out, giving them less and less cover to deal with. There would still be time for them to raise an alarm, but if they struck quickly—

Earth erupted far to her left, as one of her splinter groups struck. Jumbled pillars thrust from the ground, hurdling soldiers into the air before collapsing onto their comrades.

Suyin leapt into action, hurling herself forward with a similar earth-column, landing just before the line of troops and funnelling all of energy of her impact—and then some—into a cascading shock wave. Troops lost their footing for twenty feet in every direction—which gave her just enough time to metalbend control of their weapons and wreak bloody havoc.

More of her people were doing the same to her right, even causing a few handfuls of enemy soldiers to retreat, disrupting their line. Perhaps if they pressed the attack—

A gout of flame exploded in front of her, instinct and reflexes only barely getting her out of the way in time.

Her mind raced nearly as fast as her feet. A firebender?! And ready for her, too...

Su kicked herself out of the enemy formation, sailing backwards through the air just in time to see a water spike slice into the space she'd been in. Fire and waterbenders both, chasing after her.

Up and down the line, it was the same. Gouts and splashes where they'd expected minimal resistance.

They'd been ready. They'd expected her.

Suyin hurled a barrage of pebbles through the air after her pursuers, and fell back. Who knew how many of her people had just been captured or killed?

Moreover, who knew who was actually leading this attack? Kuvira never used other nations' benders before; she'd round them up into camps, even.

If this wasn't Kuvira attacking, then who was it?

 

 

***

 

 

Tsu Ying stood guard at the warehouse door, looking as fierce and intimidating as she could, and doing a damned good job of it. If you held yourself just the right way, and watched passers-by just-so, it wasn't difficult to make them keep a wide berth without actually drawing attention to the fact you were guarding anything at all.

Now and then, though, somebody would walk up, wearing something nondescript, and flash a red Pai Sho tile at her and her fellow guard. They'd say their name, and she'd check them off a list. She took a good look at their face, and repeated their name with that image in mind until the next person arrived. Particularly one face—not Torru, but one of the students who he'd left Ba Sing Se with. He gave no indication he recognized her—why would he?—and stepped into the building impatiently.

That, alone, was news. They'd snuck into the city somehow, but Torru hadn't moved to take his place in the convention yet—he'd have been arrested at the door.

Wei was guarding the back—she was glad to have some backup on-site at least, even if he wasn't nearby—but none of them had managed to get inside. This whole thing would be for nothing if they couldn't get some information. She was sure Mako was skulking in the darkness somewhere—probably on a rooftop, but certainly somewhere he could leap in if something went wrong.

The problem was, the meeting was inside.

And she was at the door. With another guard, no less.

Of course, this wasn't precisely a high-security, well-polished White Lotus operation.

“Hey,” she said, knocking the other guard's shoulder. “Got this for a minute? Gotta take a leak.”

“Sure,” the man grunted. “Bring me back an apple or something if they got one, I'm starved.”

She nodded, and stepped through the door.

Not everything had to be difficult, turned out.

Tsu Ying walked slowly, across the warehouse floor, acting lost in spite of having noted where the washrooms were when they'd first shown her the place. For anybody watching, it should look like she was a trifle lost and didn't want to interrupt what was being discussed.

“It's been months, and they're just _starting_ this damned convention!”

“But they _are_ starting it. How many voices do we have?”

“A ton from Ba Sing Se, but—”

“We have leaders from all over the country here! We'll never get another chance like this to strike!”

“Calm down!” “Don't be ridiculous!”

She needn't have worried about being spotted—all the men and women here were so wrapped up in debate, she could've been a gorilla leopard and they wouldn't have noticed.

“You want support from outside the city?” It was the student from Zaofu. Rong. “The representative from Lao is in Ba Sing Se, and the powers-that-be have tried everything they can to stop us. We had to smuggle him into the city in a cabbage cart to keep him from being arrested on sight. Now they're starting the convention without him to speak for our comrades out in the countryside!”

“What good can one representative do? Even if we get him seated?”

“Aren't they voting on a third chairperson?”

“There's no way they'd let that happen! Not after what just happened in the Fire Nation.”

“The whole world is focused on the Fire Nation right now, that and Zaofu. Nobody's paying attention to what happens here!”

Tsu Ying found a basket of apples near the back of the meeting space. She lingered a moment, fingers running over each. What had happened in the Fire Nation? Keeping up with international news hadn't exactly been a priority.

“I still say with the garrison weakened, we should retake the palace!”

“To what end? My people just want to get paid better.”

“You think anybody in the convention cares about that?”

“Torru of Lao would!”

“Who even invited this kid?”

“Let him speak! We're all supposed to be equal, aren't we?”

“Even if this Torru guy is the best friend workers ever had, what good can he do?”

“Alone, nothing! We have to stand behind him. We _all_ have to stand behind him.”

“What do you mean?”

“We're supposed to follow a guy we've never met?”

“Lao has already spread our community self-government to all its neighboring states! Once they send replacement delegates—”

“With a war going on around Zaofu? How are they going to get here?”

“They'd just get arrested, like this Torru will if he shows his head.”

“They can arrest a man, but they can't arrest an idea!”

“You sure about that, kid?”

“Actually, there's something to that...”

Tsu Ying had gone over every apple twice. She'd been in here too long, the other guard would be getting suspicious soon. She picked two at random and started for the door.

“The leaders here want to arrest Torru quietly, so nobody finds out about him. What if they get half of what they want?”

Tsu Ying hesitated.

“They have the quiet part already...”

“She meant the other half, idiot.”

“I get it! If they move against him, make it so they can't hide it. Make it as public as possible.”

“The convention claims to be crafting a government representing the people. They don't have the authority to refuse a representative the people send.”

“So what are you saying we do?”

“Besides stop that Zaofu spy halfway to the door?” the student asked.

Oh heck.

Tsu Ying bolted for the door, a few stunned shouts at her back. Chairs scraped on the floor a moment later as people burst to their feet.

“Hey,” the other guard asked, poking his head in. He saw her running. “What's—”

She hurled the apple at his face, knocking his head backwards and sending him tumbling into the street. He tugged the door open after, and she leapt over him and—

He caught her foot.

Tsu Ying hit the dusty ground heavily, the breath grunting out of her. He lurched forward, his nose bleeding, but she managed to roll herself over, kicking his other hand away. While he was recovering, she arched her back, threw herself forward, and punched him right out.

She slid her foot from his grip just as the workers surged through the door. She grabbed handfuls of grit as she scrambled to her feet, hurling it at the closest pursuer's face and shouting “Earthbending Death Strike!”

He flinched, and the people around him slowed, just a step. Just a breath.

Tsu Ying was already sprinting away.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Asami had seen the firebending flashes from her place on the parapet. It didn't appear the enemy had a lot of other benders, but it had been enough to repulse Su's attacks—and perfectly placed, too. It was well past the point where Suyin should have returned, but only a tenth of the benders who went out with her had filtered back—and Suyin was still missing.

Suyin's guard captain stood beside her, but was clearly out of his depth. He kept looking to the woman half his age for reassurance, for guidance—really, for orders. Asami went ahead and gave them. Perhaps she could add 'general' to her resume after this?

Their initial assumptions—and a good part of the battle plans predicated upon them—were clearly false.

One: this wasn't Kuvira. This wasn't her style in so many ways, between the ramshackle look of the formation or the use of other nations' benders, or the lack of mechanization;

Two: though not a siege, neither was this a thoughtless assault. Whoever was commanding over there had clearly strategized thoroughly, determining Zaofu's most likely defensive tactics and preparing for them;

Three: in spite of the provocative boldness of the attack, they had already held some things in reserve.

This wasn't to be a fistfight, won by the first good punch.

This was to be a game of Pai Sho.

Luckily, Asami Sato excelled at both.

The army was closing in on the walls. What infantry Zaofu had was lined up at the base, a paltry force compared to what was coming, even with the White Lotus forming a central, disciplined core. Earthen moats served to narrow the battlefield, for a time, to diminish their disadvantage in numbers, but those could be quickly corrected by the attacker's earthbenders.

Enemy planes were no longer buzzing too high to matter. Seven of them were approaching Zaofu's army, swooping in low in a practiced V formation. Opal was trying her best to intercept, but it wouldn't be until after they'd flown over and done whatever they intended to do. Bombs, most certainly—not big enough to do substantial damage, since they had to be thrown over the side by hand, but enough to disrupt Zaofu's organization just as the enemy army bore down, and rattle the troops.

Asami hefted her telescopic rifle, and sighted the pilot of the front plane. She took a moment, gauged their approach speed, and fired.

She missed, but the attempt gave her data. Reload. She led the target a little further, and...

The second try hit, sending the lead plane jerking toward to the side. The formation fell apart, another of the planes getting clipped by the one Asami had hit, limping back the way it had come. The other side of the formation pulled away belatedly—right into Opal's path. Metal glinted in the sun, and all three planes went down.

The guard captain exhaled. “Im... impressive shot.”

Asami shook her head. “Wasted a bullet. We can't spare them.”

The captain blinked at her, but she just narrowed her eyes and scanned the battlefield.

Only two of the planes had managed to throw their bombs overboard, though what little damage they did was offset but the morale boost from seeing most of them go down—and the one Asami shot crashing into the enemy troops. Their discipline, however, held. “Tell me if you spot anyone that looks like an officer.”

The captain nodded, and joined her in looking as the army resumed its advance in spite of the plane gambit unraveling. Numbers were still with them, after all. And they had to engage Zaofu's center to give their earthbenders time to fill in those deep pits...

Asami grabbed the receiver of their mobile radio, watching the flanks even as the din of blade-on-blade fighting reached her. The other side had a surprise ready for Su's gambit? Well, how ready were they for hers?

Figures on both sides of the battlefield kicked their way forward, pushing earth into the pits anchoring Zaofu's flanks.

She keyed the radio. “Riflemen. It's just as we planned. Take out the earthbenders.”

Asami held her breath as hundreds of shots roared from the battlements above the flanks to either side of her. Nearly to a man, all the earthbenders fell, and the front layer of troops behind them, as well.

“Keep hitting the flanks,” Asami said over the radio. “Fire in volleys, but take opportunity shots at benders and officers.” Hopefully the shock would break the enemy morale, because frankly, they had more troops than she had rounds.

She handed it to the captain and hefted her rifle again. She had three rounds left in this clip and several clips to spare. This wasn't like the sting, this wasn't personal. It barely even felt real. Some part of her felt horrified at how easy this was, but not as much of her as was horrified about what happened if Zaofu's line broke.

And so, as always, Asami Sato did what she had to do.

 

 

 

***

 

 

“Here, let me help you with that,” Senna said, rolling up her sleeves to help with the dishes.

Pema smiled, and rolled her eyes a little. “Help, okay. But I'm not letting you take over like last time.”

“I don't mind though. With the sorts of chores you grow up doing in the Southern Water Tribe, doing dishes is almost a vacation. The water isn't even freezing, do you know how much of a luxury that is?”

Pema snickered, making the other woman room. “Perhaps. But one mother to another, don't think I don't know what you're doing. Trying to make my life easier and keep my mind off of everything that's happened.”

Senna didn't have any reply to that. She just shrugged and washed dishes.

“I do appreciate the company, though,” Pema said. Even with most of the kids gone, somehow there's still so many dishes to do.”

“I'm surprised you don't have some of the air acolytes do it for you.”

“I _was_ an air acolyte. Which might be part of why I enjoy chores like this. It's... meditative. And nobody wants to bother you while you're doing it because they don't want to get roped into helping.”

“Shh!” Senna said, ducking in conspiratorially. “You're not supposed to say it aloud.”

“Oh, I hear it from Kya all the time. 'Pema, why do you have to keep reinforcing gender norms!' 'Pema, make Tenzin do his own damned laundry!' 'Pema, you don't want your daughters growing up as slaves to the patriarchy, do you?'”

“Slaves to the patriarchy?” Senna chuckled. “She's actually said that?”

“Mostly when she's drunk. And it's not like she doesn't have a little bit of a point, but...”

“I don't see any of our daughters having that problem,” Senna said, chuckling at the thought. “Can you imagine, somebody trying to force Korra to do chores?”

“Oh, we tried when she lived here. It's part of airbender meditation training, after all. She always tried to find ways to use her bending to cheat and usually made a much bigger mess.”

“I can see that. Especially when she first came here.” Senna sighed.

Pema felt her mood change, and gave the other woman a questioning look. "What's wrong?"

Senna shook her head. “When Korra was recovering, after she was strong enough to walk around again... she started volunteering to help around the palace. Cook, dishes, sweeping, whatever it was. It's a palace, we have staff now, as odd as that feels, but it made her feel better. Maybe some of that meditation training took root.”

“Maybe,” Pema said, feeling distant herself. Remembering Korra, vibrant unstoppable Korra, as beaten down as she'd been was still gutwrenching. Her long convalescence had put Pema in tears more than once, even as far away as she was from it.

“Pema?”

“Hmm?”

“You've been scrubbing that plate for two full minutes.”

“Oh.” She set it back in the sink, then let her hands just rest in the lukewarm water. “Kya keeps avoiding telling me just how bad Tenzin is.”

“He's alive, though. That's the important thing.”

“Is that how Korra felt? Is that how you...”

Senna wiped her hands, then placed one on Pema's shoulder. “Your husband is as strong as he is stubborn. And he's got the patience to endure whatever he needs to. Maybe Kya really isn't sure yet, or maybe it's not as bad as you're afraid of, but whatever happens, he knows you love him. He knows you'll be there for him. Sometimes... we just have to make them better.”

“I just get so tired sometimes,” Pema said. “Holding everything together...”

“I know,” Senna said. “Believe me. I know.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

It hadn't taken the other side long to realize where the withering attacks destroying their flanks were coming from. But they had the damnedest time trying to do something about it.

Shards of ice and volleys of pebbles were first, but Asami's riflemen up on the battlements were way too far away. Once counterattacking was ruled out, those earthbenders that survived tossed up walls, preventing the bulk of the enemy army from being shot, but funnelling them into Zaofu's defenders, which suited Asami just fine. They couldn't block off the whole battlefield, though, so she'd been forced to reposition her rifles above the center and rain fire at the enemy's rear. It didn't impact the front line fighting, but she didn't want to risk hurting the troops they had.

Then, all at once, a cloud of dust swept upward, casting the entire mess into a murky brown.

“What now?” the guard captain asked, hands sweaty on the radio.

“They can't see us either, and they're focusing at the center, too. The earthbenders we have left, the ones that came back from Su's flank attack, send them down to hurl boulders over those walls. If you can get in touch with Opal, see if she can't clear some of that dust out. And split the riflemen into thirds, and send one each to guard the flanks.”

“Isn't the focus all on the center now?”

“Yes. And the entire battlefield is shrouded too. Whoever is down there is very smart and has military experience. I'm just a quick study.”

He laughed nervously at that. “I'm trained to police a city, not fight a war. You're... I'm just glad to have the genius on _my_ side.”

Asami smirked. “I made a promise to someone. Now get those troops moved.”

It took several minutes for everyone to get into position. She sighted through her scope at the critical parts of the battle, listening to the confused reports from the front. The earthbenders got into position first, hurling massive boulders over the army's walled front, but it was impossible to know if they were falling on densely-packed troops or onto empty ground. Still, it couldn't be making the other side's job any easier.

Opal swooped down, drawing the dust into a gale beneath her bison. The battlefield was a chaotic soup of pikes and swords and earthbending, but her troops only had a few seconds to see who was where and fire. Even aimed at the mass of enemy troops, their accuracy through that dust could not be great.

Suddenly, the wall one on one side of the battlefield toppled forward, bridging the moat. Dust flowed above the shadowed troops cascading over it.

Asami grabbed the radio. “Riflemen cover the flank! Everyone else fall back! Earthbender and riflemen, protect the flanks! All fire on the flanks!”

The other flank followed suit, and she ordered what was left of her center to fire on the advancing enemy on each side. The dust made it impossible to tell if Zaofu's forces were pulling back, or retreating, or surrounded, or even still there. Shouts and clangs and thuds echoed in the eerie murk. The rifle fire from the walls was nearly constant.

How was she supposed to keep control of the battle if she couldn't see what was happening? What should she reinforce? What moves should she make? This was like playing Pai Sho, blindfolded.

Without any more information, further orders would only confuse the issue. She fought to still her heart as she split her attention along the entire dusty front. The dust wasn't dissipating, but neither was it advancing. Opal was swooping back and forth beneath the city wall, keeping the immediate view open where the enemy benders couldn't quite reach.

Finally, the first glimpses of Zaofu's troops emerged from the dust, their ranks holding as they inched their way back. The right side was pressed in dangerously close, but a few of her earthbenders ran in on their own to shore it up. Wherever the dust on the flanks tried to move forward, devastating rifle fire rained down to keep it at bay, to keep the city's defenders from being encircled.

Finally, they'd made a semicircle around the city's gate, allowing the rear troops to retreat inside.

Asami felt herself relax, just a little. Even without the domes, the gates would provide some level of defense. Perhaps she'd done enough damage to their bender corps to make it impossible for them to quickly diminish her defenses. She'd hurt them, she was sure. Worse than they'd expected. They'd have to assess where they stood as well.

A message came over the radio: “Miss Sato, you gave orders to cease firing when we got down to ten percent ammunition reserve?”

So soon? She took the radio. “Where are we now?”

“Nine percent.”

She licked her lips, glancing at the flanks being just barely held at bay. “Diminish the rate of fire, don't go below five. And start phasing some back to the second defensive position. This may turn into a dome-by-dome, street-by-street fight. We'll just have to hold them off as long as we can.”

“It could be weeks before reinforcements arrive,” the captain said. “We went through ninety percent of your ammunition in a day. So far!”

Asami growled. Down below, the sandstorm masking the enemy armor made contact with the walls. Opal had set Juicy down nearby, funneling as much wind downward as she could to keep the retreat visible. “I'm well aware of the math, Captain.” More and more troops retreated into the city. She'd have to see just how bad the equation now stood. What variables she could still manipulate. What other angle she could approach this from...

There was always something, always some way.

There had to be.

 


	21. Moments of Thought

_Korra drifted into wakefulness—well most of her. Her arm, pinned beneath Asami, was still asleep. But that was fine._

_She looked down at Asami's still face, gently tracing the hair from her eyes. Asami breathed quietly, still, asleep. Still, beautiful. For months, maybe for years now, she'd woken up, and Asami Sato was the first thing on her mind. Now, she woke up, and Asami Sato was already in her arms._

_She had no idea how long they'd been there. More than a few days, less than a month. It felt like a blink. It felt like forever. It felt right._

_But now, they were on their way back home. The Republic City portal was just beyond the horizon—they'd arrive home tomorrow. What would happen then? They'd said so much, but there was still so much she didn't know. So much she wasn't sure about. Where were they going? What were they going to do? What_ were _they? They'd said so much, but they hadn't... were they dating? They had to be, right? I mean, what else could this be?_

_(She's stuck with you right now. She's just being nice. She'll never claim you publicly, nobody would—)_

_(That's ridiculous.)_

_Korra took a deep breath, pushing the anxiety aside. This was Asami. Maybe they hadn't said specific words or discussed what their relationship was, but she'd never do anything to hurt her. Not Asami._

_She felt herself grinning, warm. She'd never felt so attached to another person before, so completely immersed in them. Not with her parents, not with Mako. Even when she'd communed with Aang, her own past life, she hadn't felt so in-sync._

_She was in love, achingly in love with Asami Sato._

_It wasn't a new realization, not really. She may have taken embarrassingly long to recognize her feelings for what they were, to put a name to the longing, but now that she had... now that she held Asami in her arms, not just in passing, not just as friends..._

_She'd never dreamed much beyond this point. The mere thought that maybe, Asami felt the same way, that Asami hadn't moved on, that Korra's body and spirit would ever have healed enough to return to Republic City, to be part of Asami's life, that she'd deserve to be a part of her life after leaving so long..._

_In all the stories she'd ever heard where the hero got her greatest wish, never did they ask 'what then?' Falling in love and running away together, it felt wonderful, but... now what?_

_(Now it all goes wrong. Maybe not right away, but something will happen. Something always happens to ruin it all. Usually it's your fault.)_

_(Other peoples' actions aren't my fault. My job is to try, not to be perfect. Asami is the perfect one. She'll make it easier.)_

_They'd figure that out together. Of course they would! Asami was the smartest person in the world, and Korra was the Avatar, once again. They_ would _make this work._

_Korra sighed, her finger tracing the curve of Asami's ear, light as the breeze. So many things that seemed so certain in Korra's life had been upended. So much she'd been told, been led to expect, wound up wrong._

_Think like Asami for a minute. Be logical about it. What was it she_ did _know?_

_Well._

_She loved Asami Sato._

_Somehow, Asami liked her back._

_(Don't question it, trust it. Trust her.)_

_(...okay.)_

_The world would keep throwing crap at them. But they'd be there for each other._

_Avatars had found love before. They had made it work. Korra deserved to be happy._

_(Why? You're weak, and you break everything.)_

_No._

_(no.)_

_Korra took a deep breath, inhaling through Asami's hair. Her floral shampoos had long since worn away, leaving only the subtle—though, admittedly, increasing—scent of Asami herself._

_Asami Sato was the most brilliant, talented, wonderful woman in the world._

_And she loved Korra._

_Not the Avatar._

_Korra._

_(She barely knows you. You've been gone so long. She trusted her father, why is thinking you're great any better?)_

_(She wasn't totally wrong about her father. He had good in him, deep down. She brought it back out in him.)_

_(You want her to fix you!)_

_(No.)_

_No._

_She'd fixed herself._

_Korra closed her eyes, remembering a moment, weeks ago. A quiet moment. Asami, and tea. 'You're amazing,' Asami had told her._

_She'd spent years telling that to herself, only to be proven wrong again and again._

_Asami shifted, a tiny moan in her throat as she rolled over, wrapping an arm around her._

_(You are weak and you will fail.)_

_She'd spent years, now, telling herself this new lesson._

_Watching Asami sleep, feeling her skin against hers..._

_Korra smiled. (I'm strong enough.)_

_There, in the Spirit World, with the woman she loved in her arms, Korra believed it._

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

In all her years as Fire Lord, the throne room had never felt so cold.

Then again, surely, the temperature had not changed. Izumi doubted the room had truly been cold for centuries. The fires burning around the throne were said to have been created by the first dragon to befriend a human, over nine thousand years ago. Surely, this was more emotional than factual, just like the chill feeling that surrounded her.

Yet she shivered still.

It was all but inevitable, barring the possibility of her own early death or abdication, that her father would die during her reign. Yet for it to come so suddenly, and because of her decisions...

She had not known of any danger. She had not even suspected it. The failure was one of information, either being insufficiently gathered or intentionally withheld. Whether incompetence or malice led her to this was almost irrelevant: she had to make sure it could not happen again. Those responsible would be punished. She'd already ordered a thorough audit of the ministries of commerce and the interior, and had several names to be either fired or put on trial.

What remained to be seen was how she could punish herself. Perhaps posterity would take care of that.

“Fire Lord,” one of her pages said.

She set down the file she'd been frowning over. That much increased profit without a rise in output or prices, how had that not tipped somebody off? “Yes, what is it?”

“Radio for you, Ma'am. It's Prince Iroh.”

Yes. Of course. She should have contacted her son herself. “Bring it here, please.”

The page carted over the self-contained unit barely larger than one you might mount in a vehicle, but containing its own power and with a far stronger signal. Another Fire Nation innovation—courtesy of Rotien Hong's Pinnacle Conglomorates. “Prince Iroh.”

“Mother. I heard about Grandfather.”

“I apologize I did not inform you myself. That was... inconsiderate of me.”

“I imagine you are more than a little shocked by it.”

Fire Lord Izumi removed her glasses. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. When she spoke, it was almost a whisper. “I feel as if I have failed.”

She let the speaker rest against her chest, unsure if he'd even heard her, not wishing to repeat herself. “I am coming home.”

Izumi brought he head forward, eyes opened to slits. “The funeral arrangements have barely begun. I'm sure the Zaofu situation is taking much of your time—”

“I resigned my position in the Republic army. I am coming home.”

She blinked, falling back. “Resigned. Over this?”

“Over the President's treatment of this. And so many other things. Besides, it sounds like you may need me at home.”

Izumi considered. “Has your resignation been accepted, or can you have it changed to a leave of absence? The next election is just under a year away, and your grandfather's funeral is the perfect alibi to temporarily remove yourself from the scene.”

This time, she knew he'd heard her. “Yes. Grandfather's death was quite convenient.”

“Iroh—”

“You'll have my room prepared?”

She pursed her lips, and sighed. “Yes. Of course. I... look forward to seeing you.”

The radio was silent.

Izumi shivered.

 

 

***

 

 

Nuktik was nearly at his mother's sick room when he noticed somebody up ahead and froze.

Not literally. Though that would certainly have been possible where Chief Eska was involved.

He sighed. He was not afraid of her, not exactly. After the last week or two, he had far worse things to worry about than her opinion. That didn't make the prospect pleasant—she had the power to make his and mother's life very difficult, if she chose. Yet they'd fought together well enough, she'd accepted his guidance on spirit pacification. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad?

Besides, at this point, she'd seen him. Avoiding her would be even more awkward.

“Chief Eska,” he greeted, nodding at her in passing.

“Yes. Do you have a moment to speak?”

He winced. “Sure. Here in the hallway?”

“Does physical location impact your ability to speak?”

“We might get in the way.”

Eska looked at the empty hallway, then stepped to the same side Nuktik was on.

He rolled his eyes. “What did you want to talk about?”

She tilted her head. “Your wish to be male.”

Nuktik bit his lip. “Alright, you know what? Physical location actually is important. Just a second.”

He checked several doors, not wishing to disturb his mother or involve Tenzin in this, but not wanting anyone else to overhear. Eventually he found an empty room and held the door open, motioning inside with one hand.

Eska glided past him in her eerie way, looking out the window on the opposite end as he shut the door behind him. “Okay. Chief Eska, you may be the leader of my tribe, and I know... I know how bad you could make things for us, but I don't need your approval, or your recognition, or—”

“You seem agitated. This conversation makes you uncomfortable?”

Nuktik leaned his head back, bouncing it off the door. “Yes! Of course it does!”

She looked back out the window. “Yet you live in such a way as to draw attention to yourself. Against all evidence and tradition.”

“Chh.” How was he supposed to treat his tribe's leader with respect when she was just so... maybe she was being dense, her tone wasn't exactly cutting, but he knew from experience how quickly that could change. “Maybe. But that doesn't mean I _want_ attention. I just want to be me. _This_ is me.”

“But it is not.”

He looked down, and sighed. “If you think that, fine. I know I can't change your mind. Spirits know... spirits know I've tried, again and again and... We fought together, you and me and Kya and the Avatar.”

“Yes. Powerful women. Why would—”

“You look just like your brother.”

Eska wasn't used to being interrupted—her mouth kept working for a moment, before she swallowed and looked confused. “Yes,” she finally said. “We have noticed.”

“What do you do when people think you're him.”

“I correct them.”

“Why?”

“Because they are incorrect.”

“How do you know?”

“How... do I know who I am?”

“Sure. When somebody else tells you different, how do you know they're wrong and you're right?”

“I... have always been me.”

“So have I!”

Eska frowned. “That... did not clarify the issue.”

Nuktik stepped toward the bed, leaning on it. “Okay. Maybe... look at what we're doing. I wanted to visit my injured mother, just going about my life, but now I have to answer questions about how I live. Why? What's it matter? The world insists I be a certain way, but if I was, the world wouldn't care. It's just mad that I'm not just doing what I'm told, _being_ who I'm told. But doing that, _being_ that... I hated it! Hated my name, hated my clothes, hated... None of that matters, though. I'm Nuktik. I would have hoped that fighting beside me, I would have at least earned that much.”

The chief was silent for a long while, peering again out the window. “We have received periodic complaints from your village, which we have ignored. However, we have recently began receiving a flood of petitions from your father, demanding that you be taken from your mother's custody, and returned to his so he may raise you properly.”

Nuktik's eyes were wide. He _thought_ he had nothing to be afraid of. “Why does he suddenly care about me now?”

“We did not inquire. Frankly family disputes like this bore us, but he has grown most persistent.”

Nuktik turned, sliding down the side of the bed, sitting on the floor. “I don't want to go.”

Eska nodded to herself. “And Desna was loathe to send you. Insistently so, in spite of your father's strong legal claim. I must admit, I did not care, but he...” she cut herself off. “His traditional melancholy has skewed toward outright despondency of late. I... I am discovering that working to grow beyond our father's teachings has made my life far less deplorable. I am beginning to suspect that Desna may discover the same.”

She turned, examining him. “I would be appreciative, once we all return home, if you would show the kindness of conversing with my brother. He...” she frowned. “Desna perhaps could benefit from your perspective.”

Nuktik chewed his lip. This... if he understood what she was trying not to say, then he felt almost obligated to help. His mother would feel the same. “What about my father?”

Eska gave him a slight grin. “He asked about a female child. As I have not met one, that request is impossible. I'm sure you agree.”

He grinned. He could almost hug her, but then, she'd probably hate it, and no reason to risk this stroke of luck. “I... I have to go tell my mom!”

She nodded at him, turning to peer back out the window. “Go on then. I am sure we will speak again.”

The most surprising thing was, he looked forward to it.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Bumi slumped beside the table in Pema's dining room, weary from the flight from Zaofu. Asami's idea to boost their speed worked well enough, but it was exhausting.

“You look as tired as I feel,” Lin said, leaning against a wall.

“Must be true. I didn't even see you there.” He cracked his neck, putting his weight on the table. “Why _are_ you skulking around Air Temple Island, anyway?”

She shrugged. “Nowhere else to be.”

“Raiko's still got you on a short leash?”

Lin scowled, and he smirked. There was hardly any sport in goading her, but it still helped his morale. “You sure you're not just hoping to hear what's going on in Kuodan?”

“Hoping not to hear more,” she muttered. “Did you not hear the news?”

Bumi sat back. “Is... Tenzin...?”

“He's alive. Hurt, but alive.”

Bumi relaxed.

“Zuko isn't.”

“Zu... Uncle Zuko?”

Lin nodded.

Bumi set his hands on the table. “Wow. I can't believe... I mean he's an old guy and all but... what happened?”

“Nobody particularly wanted to tell the whole story over the radio,” Lin sighed, sitting beside him. “But it sounds like he got in the way of one of Sato's rifles.”

He whistled, shaking his head. “How is Korra taking that?”

“I can't imagine she's taking it well. Neither is Izumi, from what I heard.”

'zumi wasn't the most cuddly person in the world, but this was her father. Zuko was a titan of the world stage, even after stepping down. She'd always been worried about not living up to his legacy, but for him to die this way...

“I bet she's lonely.”

“Pff, she's got her royal consort.”

“Yeah. Real supportive relationship, that. Doesn't he have his own separate palace?”

“I'm sure it's nearby. Why the concern for Izumi?”

“Oh, I don't know, Lin. Maybe because she's the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world in a pretty touchy time? Maybe because we've known her since we were all kids? Maybe because she just lost her dad?”

Lin winced. “Okay, okay. Okay.” She sighed. “Well, nice to be in the part of the world that isn't having a crisis, for once.”

“You're going stir crazy, aren't you?”

Her eyebrow twitched. “I spend all those years not caring about anyone, and now that you've all got your claws sunk in me I get stuck here. Real funny, life. Thanks for that.”

“Hey, I spent decades coming to terms with being the Avatar's non-bending kid. And now—” he sent a little whirlwind dancing across the table. “Now I'm the most senior airbender present. How 'bout that.”

“It's quite the change.”

“And you!”

“Me?”

“Yeah, Miss Metal-britches. Remember when you listed all the qualities that would make the perfect man for you, realized you'd described Tenzin, and then dated him for like a decade?”

She snorted. “Why bring _that_ up?”

“What, your past romantic entanglements? I dunno, since you've thawed out so much, I thought maybe you'd give it a try again. Ya know, every decade or two, seems worth a shot.”

“Pff. Ridiculous.”

“Am I?”

“As long as I've known you.”

“But I'm usually right.”

“In your own mind!”

“Are you saying there isn't anyone in particular you wish you could be out there protecting?”

“She can take care of—” Lin stopped, her eyes wide and her face red. “Yes that's what I'm saying!”

Bumi gave her a wide, knowing smile.

Lin scoffed. “What is this... you bet against the kids hooking up, and now you're interested in me and your sister?”

He held up a finger, speaking instructively: “I did not bet against Korra and Asami getting together. I bet against the timing. Besides, it's not often you get to antagonize _and_ encourage someone simultaneously. With the world the way it is, I'll take what joy I can get. Which is exactly what you should do, Lin.”

She lay her arms on the table, too tired to fight. “Whatever. Not like I could do anything about it right now anyway.”

“Sure you could.”

“How? I'm stuck here.”

“In more ways than one. You still haven't even admitted it.”

“What's the point?”

“What's the point in not saying it?”

“You already know.”

“Yeah, _I_ do. Do you?”

Lin narrowed her eyes, taking on her best talking-to-a-slow-reporter tone. “Do _I_ know who _I'm_ interested in?”

“Yeah. Have you admitted it to yourself?”

“This is idiotic.”

“Says the woman who was so screwed up inside about something decades old she destroyed an acupuncturist's office.”

Lin crossed her arms, grousing under her breath.

“Kya is out of town, but she will be coming back soon enough. Are you going to act all stiff and awkward like you usually do? Seems to be her thing, maybe that'll work, if you don't shove her away. Or maybe, just maybe, you could decide that Chief Beifong can afford to loosen up a little, at least around one particular lady.”

“It's... it's not as easy as all that.”

Bumi shrugged. “Maybe not. Make it an order then.”

“An order.”

“Yeah. Order yourself to do it.”

Lin regarded him a long moment, before finally shaking her head. “You're impossible.”

“I am being perfectly reasonable, thank you. You're the one who's too stuck up her own butt to admit she might be having feeeeelings. Spirits, even Eska is hugging people now.”

“You want me to start hugging people?”

Bumi sat back, his face stricken. “Egad woman, you? I told you to loosen up, not to abandon your personality altogether.”

Lin sighed. “I don't know why I even talk to you some times.”

“That's easy. So you can get closer to my sister.”

From the look in her eyes, he was very lucky she didn't have anything to throw.

 

 

***

 

 

Mako hadn't slept in nearly two days.

Tsu Ying's sudden flight from the Red Lotus meeting had left them all breathless—and with the sudden need to vacate their now-compromised apartment. Mako's hackles were up all night as far too many workers were on the streets, some holding tools or pipes or other such handy implements of persuasion. Fear got him through 'til morning.

Once they were sure they weren't being followed any more, the were deep in the Lower Ring. Duty kept them moving until they got to one of the less-understaffed guard stations, and got word to the palace that they needed to be brought in, quickly.

Finally, they were on a private earth-tram, on their way toward the Upper Ring. Fear was past and Duty was taking care of itself, and this ride might take a while, so why not rest?

He woke as the car went through a tunnel, not knowing how long he'd been out, not knowing when Tsu Ying had fallen asleep against him, not knowing when his arm had gone around her.

He glanced at Shu, snoring softly across the compartment, Wei sprawled out on the floor. He thought of his conversation with Tsu Ying's partner, how things between Tsu Ying and himself had to remain professional. Mako knew he hadn't been wrong.

But he didn't want to move his arm, either.

Glancing out the side, they were just inside the inner ring. They'd been forced to take a pretty indirect path through the city, and Ba Sing Se was enormous, so the trip across the middle ring could take upwards of two hours. The only good thing about that was, the Red Lotus agitators they were trying to outrun had to cover the same distance.

Of course, he'd managed to get a short message to Wu from the tram station. The other side would have sent their own messages hours earlier, and been moving already. And Torru hadn't been at the meeting.

“You're awake,” Tsu Ying whispered. “And frowning, I think.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Your shoulder is tense.”

“Sorry.”

“I'll live,” she said, straightening, cracking her back. Mako reclaimed his arm. She put her own across the bench behind him. “I may be starting to like trains.”

“You don't regret falling into all this?”

She gave him a look like he was a crazy person. “Have I done anything to suggest I want to be elsewhere? Since Guanlin, at least?”

“No. And that was more the place than it was the mission.”

She nodded firmly. “I'm a soldier by choice, Mako, not by accident of association. If I wasn't with you, I'd probably be stuck back in Zaofu, cooling my heels and bored out of my mind with the rest of the White Lotus folks. Not on a critical mission to fight instability in the Earth Territories, potentially saving thousands of lives. Is this all a bit more grand than I expected? Sure. But I joined up to make a difference, and where else can I make a bigger one?”

He hadn't thought about it that way, about choice. He and Bolin and Asami, they'd just become Korra's friends, because she was Korra. And then they'd gotten involved in all of her battles, because she was their friend. He'd never particularly wanted to fight in the Spirit World or inside a giant mecha. But he was the man on the scene.

“Well,” he said, clearing a bit of sleep from his throat, “I'm glad you came. I definitely couldn't have done all this myself.”

“Not even with Wu's help?” Tsu Ying asked.

“Ah... no.”

She chuckled quietly, glancing at Shu and Wei, both still asleep. “Those buildings out there... look pretty fancy. Upper ring?”

Mako nodded. “We should probably wake the others. We'll be there soon.”

“Wait,” she said, a hand on his as he started to rise. “Wait.”

Mako sat, and waited. He looked at her, smiling, and she smiled back, eyes wavering between his. They flitted down, just a moment, and she squeezed his hand.

He raised an eyebrow, still waiting.

Tsu Ying sighed. “Alright, you're clearly too proper and too romantic to actually broach the issue, so I guess I'll do it: assuming we get nice private rooms in the Upper Ring tonight, I'd like to sneak into yours after nightfall. I'm warning you both out of a sense of fair play and so I don't get my face burned off.”

“Uh...” Mako blinked. “I... don't you think that would compromise the mission?”

She tilted her head, giving him a flat look. “Mission? What mission are we even on, Mako? Who for? My commanding officer put me on detached escort duty, without ever clarifying who or what I was escorting, and you're a policeman.”

“Detective.”

She smirked. “Whatever. Point is, there's really no rules for us to be playing by out here. So there's no rules for us to break.”

“I... really don't think that's how it works.”

“No? Boys, what do you think?”

“Just do the deed already,” Shu muttered sleepily.

“Yeah, get a room,” Wei said from the floor.

Mako felt himself blush. This definitely didn't seem—

The tram lurched suddenly, halting on its raised track. Mako and Tsu Ying were on their feet, her hand on her belt knife while Wei and Shu scrambled up with them.

He leaned out the window, peering ahead. “Gap in the track. There's a crowd below, too. The palace isn't far.”

“Somebody doesn't want anyone getting to the convention,” Tsu Ying said. “Question is, was it our side or theirs?”

Mako examined the chanting crowd below, some of them climbing the far side of the tram track. “I don't think our side has a mob at its disposal.”

Tsu Ying looked out the window. “I dunno, looks useful to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“We're still dressed for the Outer Ring. Even if somebody called ahead to instigate this, it's not like they actually sent a description to everybody in that mob. They threw it together quick to block the way to the palace.”

“Which means we need to go through it,” Mako groaned. “Sneaking around disguised as the enemy.” At least the Equalists wore masks, that had made it easier. “Good plan.”

“Is 'good' really the right word?” Wei asked.

“When used tactically,” Shu explained, “it means 'only.'”

“Gotcha.” Wei glanced out the window, then took a stance, knee-kicking the side of the tram down into a ramp. “It's not a bad fall onto that rooftop. I'll go first, catch you all.”

With that, he lept from the tramway. Shu glanced after, sighed, set his shoulders, and followed moments later.

Mako turned to Tsu Ying, expecting a quip, a comment, some reference to the conversation they'd been having, but she was all business. Which, oddly enough, was more enticing than anything she could have said. “Watch that arm of yours when you land,” she said. “I still don't trust it's healed.” She jumped off, rolling with her impact on the rooftop, not needing Wei's help at all. She stood, brushed herself off, looked up at him. Impatiently.

Stop staring, Mako.

He jumped after her.

From the roof, it was simple enough to slip into the building and out into the street. The foot traffic was all flowing toward the Palace, but the closer they got, the thicker the crowd. He realized, all at once, that Wei and Shu were nowhere in sight.

Mako grabbed Tsu Ying's wrist as the armed barricade around the palace came into view. “What now? There's no way we can convince the guards to let us in!”

“And if we rush them, we'll just incite one side or the other,” she said, scowling as the crowd jostled against her. “You can't reason with a group without a leader. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate this whole Red Lotus thing?”

That earned her a glare from a man nearby. Mako frowned at him, guiding Tsu Ying by the shoulders. “We just need to attract the right person's attention,” he said.

She stopped, turning in his arms. “Firebend,” she said.

“What?”

“Straight up into the air. Firebend.”

“What? No! The crowd will panic—”

“Forget the crowd, they'll run away. Focus on the guards. How do you think a guard like me would react to that?”

A guard like her?

General question, Mako. Focus. “They'll swoop down and arrest us.”

“Exactly!”

Tsu Ying stared at him, giving her head a shake so he'd think about what he'd agreed with.

“Oh. Yeah I guess that might work.” He sighed, looked up, and raised a fist above his head, sending up a jet of flame.

The results were as they'd expected. Localized bedlam.

Every ounce of cop in Mako winced. He didn't know the particular laws of Ba Sing Se—there couldn't possibly be as much legislation regarding firebending as there was in Republic City—but he was certain he was breaking dozens of public safety regulations.

Tsu Ying looked at his face, chuckling. The fire danced in her eyes. She was still in his arm. “It's for the greater good,” she reassured him.

Mako wasn't sure he'd ever felt so singular a moment in his life. The boy from Republic City, the cop, Lin Beifong's protege, out on a mission of his own, firebending a crowd away outside the Royal Palace in Ba Sing Se. Korra wasn't there to lead the charge—he'd done that himself. Bolin wasn't there with him, but someone else was watching his back.

The crowd dispersed, but he was staring in her eyes.

What the heck.

Mako bent his head down, kissing her as the guards surrounded them. She whimpered into his lips, tense, returning, before pulling away, hands raised. “White Lotus agents! We need to talk to Prince Wu and Delegate Wing!”

“We aren't going to resist!” Mako insisted, his wrists together before him, ready for the manacles he knew were coming. “My name is Mako. I'm with Wu, he's expecting me.

The guards looked at each other.

“Seriously,” Tsu Ying said, “Somebody let Wu know that a tall handsome firebender is out front looking for him. He'll know it's Mako straight away. Probably don't mention the kiss, though.”

Mako chuckled, smiling as the metal clamped around his wrists.

Tsu Ying frowned at the manacles on her wrists. “ _I_ didn't do anything!”

“Don't worry about it. The cells here aren't too bad.”

“You've toured their prisons?”

“I was a prisoner. Grand Theft Airbender, with a side of being a hostage.”

Tsu Ying grinned.

The guards began to guide them toward the palace, away from the entrance. The mob was quickly forgetting their disturbance, far more interested in something going on toward the front.

Mako nodded. “What's going on over there?”

“Quiet,” one of the guards prodded.

Shouts and jeers began to rumble through the mob, chants warring with each other, drowning each other out.

“Look” Tsu Ying said, dragging in her heels. “Maybe we sound crazy, but something bad is about to start just over there if we can't get a message to the people in charge. You guys, ALL of you, you'll have to live with wondering what might have happened if you'd just let us get a message through. That's guilt you don't need to carry!”

“We're coming peacefully,” Mako insisted. “Please just, send _someone_ to Wu! Let him know not to arrest Torru! They _want_ a riot!”

“Do you really have the manpower to deal with _that_?” Tsu Ying asked, flicking her head toward the crowd, her braid flailing out behind her.

The guards paused, those behind them muttering to each other. After a moment, one of them ran off, toward the palace-side of the growing disturbance.

Mako exhaled, allowing himself to be led. They'd done what they could. Then he chuckled.

“What?” Tsu Ying asked.

“Nothing. Either we'll be rooming together for a while, or I'll be _very_ impressed tonight if you can sneak into my cell.”

She laughed.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Asami!”

“Suyin,” she said, with more of a sigh than a smile. “Thank goodness you made it back into the city. When we saw they were ready for you, we were afraid...”

“It was far closer than I care to admit,” she said, limping to the ledge beside her and peering out. The dome they'd been defending was abandoned, as well as a few of the other outlying sections of the city. Zaofu's forces had consolidated around the city center, but the attackers had earthbent so much dust into the air that an impenetrable haze covered most of the valley. A few biplanes buzzed overhead—probably just scouting what troops Zaofu had left.

“Who is this?” Asami asked. “Kuvira's army never had firebenders.”

Suyin shook her head. “I don't know. I was able to watch most of the battle, as I made my way back. I thought for sure they would have barreled over my army, but you kept them at bay, and I think you bloodied them enough that they're being extra-cautious.”

“Extra-cautious means it'll be harder to trap them.”

“It buys us time,” Suyin said, touching Asami's elbow. “We wouldn't even have had that, if you hadn't come.”

Asami sighed, fingers flexing against the rail. “I'm not sure it's going to matter. We're down to a few clips per rifle, and after that, they're basically just clubs. Hardly the best first showing for a new weapon's system, is it?”

Suyin pressed her lips together. “Have you taken any sort of break, since this all started?”

Asami shook her head. “When could I have done that?

“Well, right now seems like—”

A deep rumble came from below, followed by a piercing metal shriek. The city beneath them shook.

Suyin grabbed the radio from Asami's side. “They've penetrated the city! All available—”

Asami touched Su's hand, shaking her head. “They're being cautious. They beat us before through smart maneuvering. I... I don't think this is a full-on attack, or at least, not all of it.

Su nodded grimly. “All available forces already in the area, plug that hole. Do not allow them purchase. Everyone else, stay near but not adjacent to the outer wall, and be ready to converge on anyone else.”

The engineer bit her lip. “At this range, they could have radios of their own. Heck, they probably captured some of ours from the other dome.”

Suyin grimaced. “How are we supposed to work around them, then?”

Asami's fingers tightened against the railing. Whoever they were fighting against clearly had experience, and she was picking all this up on the fly. “We'll have to tell them in person. We need a plan that works, whether or not they think they know our plans. Tell them... tell the defenders to fight briefly, then fall back. Feign weakness. Maybe, if we look like we're breaking, we can draw them in. Then find somewhere my rifles can do the most damage, maybe we can shock them into falling back.”

Suyin nodded. “They did attack right after a march. Even seasoned troops have a breaking point. I'll see to it. You stay here.”

“But—”

“And take a nap or something! Your eyes are bloodshot.”

“The air is pretty dusty, if you hadn't noticed.”

Suyin set her shoulders. “It's either stay here and let me handle this, or I'm escorting you personally to that last airship.

Asami sighed. “I'll rest a few minutes.”

Suyin nodded, realizing she wouldn't get a better offer, and strode away.

The engineer sighed, sliding herself down an inner wall to sit. Her legs _were_ sore, and her shoulders ached with hours of residual tension. She reached back, pressing her thumbs into the base of her neck, wishing Korra were here to massage all the tension away. Asami couldn't imagine where or when she'd learned how, but her girlfriend gave fantastic massages.

She chuckled at herself. Here she was, an invading army beneath her feet, and she wanted Korra here to rub her back. Perhaps that wouldn't be the optimal use of resources. Korra could have wrapped the battle up by now, if she were here.

Asami hugged her knees to herself. Korra had trusted her to keep Zaofu safe. And she was failing. The rifles were working, too! If only she'd had a little more time, had another airship or two full of ammunition. If only...

The biplanes flew low over the far end of the valley, and the dust parted briefly to let them land.

Before, the planes had been coming from somewhere far afield. Why were they landing now on the battlefield itself?

Something was going on out there.

Asami looked at the radio, frowning. Even if she knew more than a nebulous 'something' was going on, what could she say without risk of alerting the other side? Some sort of code system would need to be devised for easy radio use. She filed the thought away, moving back toward the ledge. Watching.

The hazy layer in the near battlefield had spread out into a monotone blur, but now something new was kicking up the earth at the far end of the battlefield, roughly the direction the attacking army had come from.

Volleys of shots began to echo from the city beneath her, the ring and clash and din of fighting, but off in the approaching distance, other sounds came on.

The crunch of wheels. The growl of engines.

This couldn't be the Republic City army. It was too soon. Had relief come from Ba Sing Se?

Shadows rolled closer to the city, then the dust storm suddenly burst apart, piling forward in front of the sudden, advancing force of jeeps and mecha. Behind them, just marching into the clean air, was an army, marching in perfect order, their green uniforms blending into one unstoppable mass.

Her eyes grew widened. She grabbed her rifle, peering through the sight, honing in on the lead jeep, knowing who she'd see there, and still not believing it when she did.

Kuvira. Brows furrowed, hair pulled back, and army behind her again.

In Asami's crosshairs.

Her finger trembled. Just one squeeze...

There was no knowing what Kuvira intended. She'd killed her father. She'd betrayed every word she'd given to the world. She'd imprisoned people for having foreign blood. She'd nearly destroyed Republic City in her thirst for power.

She'd killed her father.

Asami closed her eyes, breathing. Just one simple squeeze of the trigger...

She thought of that man, the man she'd tried to kill. She still didn't know if he'd lived.

He'd deserved it. Maybe she didn't have the right to take his life, but he'd deserved it.

Asami opened her eyes, her breath held.

That man had been a gangster. Kuvira was a war criminal. Her sins were far greater...

She let out her breath...

Asami squeezed her eyes shut, and drew back her rifle, setting it aside. Her heart thundered. She could only sigh. Either Kuvira was coming to relieve Zaofu, or to conquer it after this other army had broken it's defenses. But other than Republic City, Kuvira had always taken great care to do as little harm to conquered territories as she could. Relief was coming, and if somebody was going to conquer Zaofu, better it was her.

Suddenly exhausted, Asami leaned back against the wall. Another volley of rifle fire shook the floor beneath her, Zaofu holding the enemy off with the last of its strength, while Kuvira's army descended.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Korra moved without thought.

She had purpose. That, she was sure of. Balance needed to be restored. Quickly. Visibly. For all the world to see. She spoke to who she must, she traveled where she must, but thought?

She wasn't ready for that.

Bodies piled in the streets. Dried puddles of blood, spirit-ichor fouling the air. Spirits rampaging, workers rioting, soldiers mowing them down.

Guns.

It was early evening when she found the building she was looking for. She crashed into it like a meteor.

Rotien Hong, CEO of Pinnacle Conglomorates, was a tall man, with sideburns in the old imperial style and a mouth used to scowling. “What is the meaning of this?”

The Avatar rose from the rubble of his wall. “You have disrupted the balance of the world.”

Recognition flashed in his eyes, but he didn't seem afraid. The man hadn't been afraid of anything in far too long. “I have? You open the spirit portals, create a new one, and I'm the one who disrupted balance? I'm a businessman.”

Korra strode toward him, her eyes aglow. “Your 'business' killed hundreds.”

“My business employs thousands. Pinnacle is one of the largest companies in the world!” The man approached _her_ , stabbing a finger into her chest. “Don't think I don't know what this actually is. I expected it. My lawyers are ready to tell the press. You're removing the competition for that girlfriend of yours, so Future Industries can swoop in. What kind of 'balance' is that?”

A thought began to form. Dreaded. “Don't you worry about Future Industries,” Korra said, grabbing Hong by the collar and lifting him into the air. “I'm visiting them next.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several plot threads lurch to a conclusion and... Oh. Oh Korra. What are you doing? 
> 
> (there was a 1-2 month gap here because grad school. Aren't you glad you don't have to wait?) 
> 
> Bonus: There is a light-hearted, Kya-centric story that takes place after this chapter,
> 
> [ _https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189248_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189248)
> 
> Not necessary to keep reading this story, but a fun aside!


	22. Six Months Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we're back from hiatus! How DID Korra finally react to Asami's invention?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everybody for waiting through that hiatus! I did what I could to keep it as short as possible. I have enough written now to get me through Spring semester, ALMOST the entire story written, which comes to 65,000 or so words written during my winter break. I turned my time off into a NaNoWriMo for you folks, so I really hope you enjoy what's coming! (Even if you have to yell at me about it!)

_Dear Korra,_

 

_I don't know where to send this. By the time phone lines to Kuodan were back up, you were already gone. Everything I've heard sounds so terrible! Thank goodness you got there before it got worse. Is it true about Lord Zuko?_

_Zaofu is safe... mostly. The situation here was a lot more complicated than we thought, and it was a new warlord behind the attack. I managed to organize the defense of the city, just like you asked, but I was nearly out of resources before Kuvira, of all people, showed up to save us. I don't believe it for a second, but she's left Suyin in power so far. I've managed to avoid her. I'm not sure what I would do if I were forced to talk to her._

_I miss you. Fighting here was brutal, and I did my share of it. This wasn't like the firebender, of course, this was battle, but... I'm afraid I may have made killing too easy. But if I hadn't been here, hadn't brought the tools I needed, the city would have fallen. I got the job done, at least._

_I did the right thing, right? I wish I could hear your voice._

_I'm sending this to Republic City, they should be able to track you faster from there. Hopefully we get in touch before this letter finds you._

 

_I love you._

 

_Asami_

 

 

***

 

 

“Next question,” Asami said, standing behind the podium in the public relations office that had formerly been an indoor racket court. As she had for the last few months—for the last few years—Tenni watched from the sidelines. “Mr. Hon?”

The reporter from the _Herald_ stood up. “What do you say to rival companies' criticisms of your swift acquisition of Pinnacle Conglomerates, after the Avatar's attack sent them into bankruptcy?”

Asami's smile remained set and perfect and unreadable—for the most part. Not many knew the woman as well as Tenni did. That stiffness in her upper lip as she replied, the slight angle to her chin every time Korra came up...

“I would tell them that they were just as able to make a bid as I was, and many of them had quite a bit more cash on hand than Future Industries at the time. I was able to keep Pinnacle's people employed, when most of my rivals would have happily stripped it for parts.”

She didn't mention the near revolt within her own board, how many of the members threatened to resign over the one-two punch of her relationship with Korra going public, and what Korra had done. Though if a reporter brought it up, she surely had an answer for that, too.

Asami had been going like this for months, even worse than before Korra's return and the Earth Empire invasion. Endless cheerful energy plowing over anything in her way. Ideas boiled out of her office, everything from a sleek new enclosed Satomobile design to heavy curtains meant to block out the spirit portal light and let the thousands of people whose windows faced the thing sleep. Contracts flowed in from the city, and Asami gobbled them up as quickly as she could find the talent to throw at them. Outwardly, everything looked great.

Outwardly.

“What about those who say you asked the Avatar to weaken Pinnacle for your takeover attempt, and that her destruction of your factories was only meant for cover?”

Asami rolled her eyes, a smidgen of honest annoyance marring her facade. “I don't have the time or energy to answer every paranoid conspiracy theory. I've stated before, and I'm saying again now, that my personal relationship with Korra, whatever it may be, is separate from any interaction between the Avatar and Future Industries.”

Clamor rose from the reporters. One of them, managing to shout over the others, asked, “And what is that relationship?”

Tenni sighed. They'd kept asking and asking that, since that well-photographed announcement on the Capital Building's front steps. Asami's favorite version of the headline—'Sparks Fly!' above a wide splash of herself being dipped and very thoroughly kissed—was framed on a wall in her office. The secretary could only imagine what Asami felt, looking at it.

Asami's smile... didn't quite falter, but it wasn't as steady as the one she typically wore. “I love her,” she said, just as simply and unhelpfully as she had every other time the subject came up. “Anything else is between the two of us.”

Disappointed mutters bubbled through the crowd—they'd been hopeful, as ever, of some new twist in Republic City's favorite drama.

How did the woman do it? She'd steered Future Industries through another set of crises that, individually, would have destroyed most other companies. She'd seen her father die in front of her eyes, she'd had the woman she loved attack the company she'd dedicated her life to, and yet somehow, she was still productive, still buoyant, still moving forward each and every day. Her reputation had grown nearly mythical, even among her enemies—Asami Sato was indestructible.

Tenni knew better.

She saw the ever-present tension in Asami's shoulders.

Saw how often Asami shut her 'always open' door.

Saw how late she worked, how early she arrived, how many meals were eaten on the go.

She knew that smile Asami had worn for six months was a rigid mask, cracking from the inside.

“Have you gotten any word of when the Avatar might return to Republic City?”

Asami smiled, and gave a slight, almost flippant shrug.

Asami Sato wasn't indestructible.

She was destroying herself.

Something had to be done.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Tonraq opened the door to the former Council chamber, smiling encouragingly. Tenzin, leaning heavily on his cane, hobbled through.

All eyes were on him. On his cane. On his scars. All leaders in this room knew, the whole world knew how badly he'd been hurt. But he was finally healthy enough now to move around. More or less.

Raiko, Bataar Senior, Izumi, and Jinora all stood, Eska joining them half a breath later as they began to clap. Tonraq added his own applause behind him.

Tenzin should have expected something like this. He blushed a little at the attention. “Thank you, everyone. But if you don't mind, I'd rather sit?”

Tonraq chuckled, helping guide him to the seat Jinora had pulled out. Her hands rested against his arm as he groaned into the chair, only moving once he was settled and needed to be relieved of his cane. Her fingers worried against it. “I'm glad you're here to take over negotiations,” she said. “I'm not ready to be the head of the Air Nation just yet.”

“Not that she couldn't,” Bataar said, giving her a nod. Tenzin maintained a warm smile, thankful for the support that had poured in from all over the world. All the same, he was just as thankful to be sitting down.

Everybody else took their seats as well, and after a brief clatter of chairs scraping on the floor, Raiko cleared his throat. “I am sure your daughter has kept you appraised of the situation—”

“I would prefer you refer to her as 'Master Jinora',” Tenzin interrupted, feeling her presence behind his chair. “She has more than earned that.”

Jinora's breath caught, and he smiled. He wasn't ready to pass leadership of the Air Nation to her yet, either, but knowing that she was there to guide it made him prouder than he could have thought possible.

Raiko gave him a slight nod. “As you say. Regardless, would you like me to give an overview of where negotiations currently stand? They have, after all, broadened somewhat since they were organized.”

Tenzin nodded, leaning back into his chair. The chance to catch his breath would be welcome—and Raiko always seemed happier when he was given a chance to speak at length.

“Originally, these accords were meant to settle conflicts involving access to the Spirit World. However, as the Fire Lord pointed out, Kuvira's harvesting of spirit vines in the Earth territories caused a reaction from spirits worldwide, including in the Fire Nation, making this a global issue.”

“My brother considered himself the sole authority on spiritual matters,” Tonraq said, “and that nearly doomed us all.”

Tenzin glanced at Eska. She seemed unfazed, even nodding slightly. He'd seen quite a bit of her during her stay on Air Temple Island, and was impressed with how seriously she was taking her role. “Then, given the multitude of issues facing the world right now, it only seemed prudent to broaden our scope.”

“Though I still say we should deal with each issue in turn,” Tonraq replied, “rather than strike one comprehensive deal too tangled for anyone to keep straight.”

“Governance is a complicated thing,” Raiko put in.

“Or perhaps,” Bataar said, “some keep it that way, so those who aren't in power won't question it.”

Tenzin raised an eyebrow. Suyin, obviously, was too occupied with Kuvira in Zaofu, and the ongoing Earth Territories convention to attend herself, and there currently was no Earth Nation government for somebody to represent. But given Bataar's placeholder status, he hadn't expected much interaction out of the man, much less the clear barb sent Raiko's way.

Tenzin leaned forward, his voice soothing. “If I am correct, the main issues were international norms regarding the Spirit World and major spiritual sites, the rules for conflict between and within nations, a coordinated response to developing events in the Earth Territories, and where the White Lotus or other international groups may fit into all this.”

Nods from around the table. Mostly. Izumi was still.

“I know we haven't managed to get Korra's opinion on all this, but can we really proceed without her?”

Tonraq winced. “Since she... left the Fire Nation, she's spent all of her time chasing warlords in the Earth Kingdom. Obviously that's important work, considering what happened a few years ago, and now that Kuvira is back in the equation. They make take some time to resolve, and these issues shouldn't wait.”

At the mention of the Fire Nation, Tenzin turned toward the surprisingly passive Fire Lord. It also gave him time to appraise Izumi. They hadn't spoken since before Kuodan, in spite of her staying a short ferry ride away. Frankly, she did not look well.

Not that he was in any state to criticize.

She'd been taking part in these negotiations for five months now, leaving Prince Iroh in charge back home. Officially, she said, the negotiations were too important for anyone but the Fire Nation's leader to represent them, and Iroh would be well-served growing familiar with rule.

Unofficially, she must still be reeling. Her own father, dead, and knowing Izumi she certainly blamed herself for it. Those sunken eyes, set off all the more by her too-tight hair...

Izumi was hiding.

All these other problems in the world needed to be sorted out. But one look at Izumi, his cousin in all but name, and he knew something had to be done.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Mako squinted through the binoculars, watching the figures in the window across the street from the burned-out flat he was crouched in. One of the figures—female, 5'3”, dark hair with a patch missing over her ear—was a known player in the Ba Sing Se underworld; the other—male, 5'11” with a face like a razor—was an agitator affiliated with the Red Lotus Faction.

Affiliated with the RLF. But not taking orders from them. No, never that.

He grimaced. For months, now, they'd been keeping track of RLF instigators, tracking down cells and breaking up plots before they could gain too much traction. After Torru had taken his place in the convention, with the tacit threat of another city-wide revolt if he was detained, it wasn't long before he'd forced his way into the third chairman seat, and proceeded to drag the negotiations to a standstill. It was tough to negotiate with somebody so sure he speaks with the 'will of the people.'

Amon was like that. And Zaheer. And Kuvira. Though Unalaq honestly didn't seem to care what anyone thought...

Mako shook the thought away—old enemies were not today's problem. Tensions still ran high, and the longer things dragged on, the more Mako was convinced that Torru would stop at nothing to see negotiations collapse. Or maybe just keep things disorganized long enough for Kuvira to march back in—Mako still wasn't sure Governor Jing had given up on his allegiance to her.

A hand squeezed his shoulder.

The last few months hadn't been all bad, at least. “What's the word?”

“Smuggling,” Tsu Ying said, pecking him beneath the ear, then scratching her nose in his short beard. “The RLF wants some cargo brought into the city, without the authorities knowing about it.” She took the binoculars, glancing through them. “And that's probably your smuggler right there.”

“You recognize her?”

“Patch? Only by reputation,” Tsu Ying replied. “You hear about the most fascinating people in the circles we travel in these days.”

“That is certainly one way to put it. How'd you track me down?”

“Maybe I've learned some of your detective skills.”

“Or maybe Shu told you.”

“To be fair, he only told me the block. I had to figure out where you were hiding.”

“And you were able to. I'm getting lax.”

“Mmhm. I'd report to your superior, but since you sort of don't have one...”

Mako was uncomfortable with how comfortable he'd gotten with that. Somehow, he and Tsu Ying had become the de-facto heads of a spy ring that the Convention didn't even know about, other than Wing and Wu, who (as Tsu Ying delighted in reminding him) had their own secret to keep. But they weren't acting on anybody's authority—not even the Avatar's, like when he'd been when fighting the Equalists.

He wasn't sure if 'vigilante' was even the right word for what they were doing. He wasn't even precisely sure it was right—but he didn't see any other choice. “Any idea what they're trying to smuggle in? Weapons, I'm guessing?”

Tsu Ying nodded as he looked back through the binoculars. “Something new, from what I hear.”

Mako frowned, lowering the binoculars for a moment. “New?

She shrugged, leaning against the wall beside the window. “That's all I know. There's plenty of blades and clubs in the city after all. Means the RLF has been gathering resources out there, though.”

Mako sighed, eyes back on the job. “Torru has been saying that. Was hoping it was propaganda.”

“Probably is. Doesn't mean there's not a little truth to it, too. A little truth can be more dangerous than the whole story.”

“You're not wrong.” The two figures were shaking hands. Mako stood, ready to follow. “Care to go for a stroll?”

“On a moonless night in the most crime-riddled slums of Ba Sing Se?” She slid her hand up his arm, behind his shoulder blades. “Quite the romantic, you are.”

Mako rolled his eyes. Were all women crazy, or just the ones he fell for? Or maybe that's what happened to women who fell for him? “Let's go.”

 

 

***

 

 

The last few months in the Northern Water Tribe royal palace had been fraught, but rather wonderful. At Eska's request, Nuktik and his mother had been treated like dignitaries, showered with the finest food and robes, allowed to come and go as they pleased.

Also at Eska's request, Nuktik had spent a lot of time with Desna. Dour, isolated Desna.

He'd hated it at first—Desna had all of Eska's strange social ticks, with an added somber irritability. Officially, they were invited so the chief could consult them on spiritual matters.

Most of the time, though, Desna simply watched them talk.

Nuktik didn't bring up what Eska had implied. He wasn't sure he should, and he knew he'd've hated it if some stranger came to his house and started asking questions! So, while Desna watched him, he watched back.

One evening, Desna informed them that the late chief's wife, the Dowager Ulkina, would be joining them for dinner. Caluqtiq had dressed him in his best, intent on making a good impression on Eska and Desna's mother. Any woman who could survive marriage with Unalaq had to be strong, after all!

It was the most miserable dinner of his life. The only words he'd heard from the Dowager speak were 'Fetch me the pepper.' They were spoken to a servant. Neither Desna's greetings or farewell were acknowledged with as much as a glance.

Afterward, Nuktik had seen light under Desna's door on the way to his own quarters. He knocked.

Desna pulled the door open. “There is an emergency?”

“What?”

“You distracted me from contemplating nothingness. I assume something pressing has arisen to interrupt me.”

“Um, no. I just... wanted to thank you for dinner, and for all your hospitality in general.”

Desna's eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Because... I feel like maybe you don't have people being nice to you, very often. Not actual niceness.”

“Ah,” Desna had said, and shut the door.

The next night, again, he knocked on Desna's door. “More unasked-for courtesy?” Desna asked.

“If it's asked for, it's not courtesy,” Nuktik replied. “Besides, part of why I'm here is because your sister said you're lonely.”

“I'm lonely because she's away. You are no substitute.”

“I'm not trying to be.”

“Good.” The door shut.

The night after: “This is becoming tiresome.”

“Then you should have an easy time sleeping, then,” Nuktik smiled.

“You are a persistent child.”

“You have to be, to convince the world they're wrong about you.”

Desna paused, mouth open slightly. It was the first time Nuktik had come close to discussing his past.

“I could talk about that... if you want.”

Desna's eyes hardened. “That will not be necessary.” Door.

The next night, the door didn't open. Nuktik called “Good night!” through anyway.

The following night was the same.

The night after, the door opened as he approached, but only a crack. “Hi,” Nuktik said, cocking his head.

“When did you know?”

“As long as I can remember.”

“What did it feel like? Knowing?”

“It... it felt like everyone had me wrong. Telling me the wrong things, calling me the wrong things. Like they were telling me that ice is hot, or snow is black, and somehow everyone believed it.”

“What did your father say.”

“He... he said the snow is black. Once, his fists said it too.”

Desna looked away. “Once?”

“Mom and I haven't been back since.”

Desna nodded, eyes distant. A "Good night" snuck through the closing door.

There were no new questions for a while, maybe two weeks. Then another night, where Desna was already waiting as Nuktik came by.

“When did you decide to do it? How did you start? How did everyone react?”

Nuktik smiled. “That's... a few more questions than we should talk about through a doorway. Do you have somewhere I can sit?”

“Oh. Yes. Come in.”

They talked for hours, Nuktik fighting through his yawns to answer everything Desna asked, until the chief realized the time. And then for another hour still.

Another week passed, and things were as usual. No more questions, but Desna's typical dourness was supplanted with an air of distraction.

Nuktik waited.

Then, Desna decided Nuktik needed a wardrobe upgrade. To something more befitting a warrior of his caliber. The tailor was thrilled—so many designs to try out. Perhaps the chief was thinking of a change too? Something so Desna would look more the proper, powerful, masculine chief that the tribe needed?

Desna was silent.

Not much affection for this tailor.

Finally, when the tailor left the room, Nuktik said, “You don't have to dress how they want. Nobody doubts your sister's strength, and she's very pretty. You look a lot like her.”

“I'm aware,” Desna replied tersely, but with a slight frown. Then, a long moment later, “Sometimes, when we were younger, she and I would switch places to see if Father or the servants noticed.”

“You enjoyed those times?”

Desna looked away. “I did.”

“Why did you stop?”

The chief glanced back at him, their eyes meeting. “Somebody noticed.”

He expected the conversation to end right there. Only, Desna continued: “You speak often of your respect for Master Katara, and her healing abilities. Do you hope that she might fix your condition?”

The question was frank, but he'd gotten used to Desna and Eska's way of speaking. There was no malice intended. “I... I don't know that she can. But if _any_ body could...”

“Would you wish her to fix... would you want her to make you feel the way your body is, or make your body the way you feel?”

“The spirit is your true self, isn't it? Whatever shells we're stuck in?”

“Of course,” Desna muttered. “I can arrange it.”

“What?”

“A visit. To Master Katara. It would be a simple matter. You could be back within days.”

“You... you could do that?”

“You saved her son's life. I'm surprised she hasn't come to visit you already. You could leave in the morning, if you wish it.”

“I...” Nuktik started, then rushed forward and pulled Desna into a hug.

“This is uncomfortable,” Desna said.

“Thank you,” Nuktik breathed, his heart bursting. This was it. This was finally it!

“Thank me when you return,” Desna said. “I... am interested in how it goes.”

Nuktik smiled. “Of course, Chief Desna. I'll be happy to.”

 

 

***

 

 

“You can't keep leaving your crap all over my apartment!” Lin snapped, shaking Kya's sock at her. “You don't see me abandoning things over at your place, do you?”

“Only the things I hide,” Kya agreed, continuing her stretches. “Calm down, Lin. Stretch with me.”

“I stretched at the gym.”

“Those were workout stretches. These are centering, meditative ones.”

“I'm centered enough as it is!”

Kya gave her side-eye as she reached her arms up, tilting gracefully to her side.

Lin snorted, stomping out of the room. Months of seeing each other, and the woman's aura was still a swirling tempest. Sure, riding out the storm could be a lot of fun, especially when Lin really let her passion cut loose. But it was harder and harder to keep _her own_ energy flowing smoothly around Lin sometimes.

“Did you hear what the damned President wants now?”

Especially when that was the topic.

“I imagine that I'm about to. I thought you were grudgingly starting to appreciate the rifle squad he had you set up.”

“I was, until he decided to have it reassigned as his personal guard! The president already commands the military, but having his own personal police force... it smells too much like the Dai Li for me.”

Kya bent one knee, bringing her foot up high against her other leg as she cast her arms high. “That does sound pretty alarming. Are you going to do it?”

“I'm not sure I have a choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

“It could cost me my job.”

Kya chuckled. “Lin, your job makes you miserable.”

“That's ridiculous.”

“Granted, you seem to _prefer_ being miserable—”

“That's even _more_ ridiculous. If I enjoyed being miserable, I wouldn't spend so much time with you.”

Kya lost her balance, her raised foot smacking the floor as she kept herself from falling. “Lin...”

“What. I can't say nice things?”

“Not when I might fall over,” Kya said, raising a hand toward the other woman, beckoning.

Lin sighed, stepping toward her. They twined their arms around each other. “If the President keeps forcing you into things by threatening to take your job... you're not able to do your job. Not the way you want. It'll just turn you into one of his stooges.”

“Never,” Lin snarled, playing with Kya's fingers. “I'll push back. The last time I stepped down, we _did_ wind up with a stooge.”

“Well, what other options are there, though? If you refuse to quit on your own terms, but you can't just ignore his orders...”

Lin took a deep breath, shaking her head. Kya could see the decision behind her eyes. “There's another card to play. I'm going to hate it, though.”

“What is it?” Kya asked, a hand trailing down Lin's back.

“It... might impact you though. I'm not sure how far it will go.”

“What _is_ it, Lin?”

She sighed. “Public opinion.”

Kya leaned against her. “The _papers_ , Lin? You hate them more than politicians!”

“Don't remind me! But if I can get them snapping at Raiko's heels, maybe he'll rein himself in. At the least, it might distract people from bothering Sato all the time.”

Kya winced at that. “I'm sure she'd appreciate that. The... patient? There's still no change?”

“The guy Sato shot?” Lin shook her head. “Still in a wheelchair. Probably will be the rest of his life.”

Kya nodded, not sure what to say. She'd attempted to heal him herself, several times. He was bitter and uncooperative, though she got the impression he'd been like that even before Asami's bullet lodged in his spine. Being confined to the wheelchair and a prison cell, both, had not improved his mood.

“She's still paying for his treatment,” Lin muttered. “I asked if she wanted to see him, and she just went pale. I'm not sure if it's because of who he was, or because of what she did to him.”

“After seeing Korra like that, doing it to someone herself...”

“Yeah.”

Kya pulled Lin's head down onto her shoulder. Lin would never do it herself, but she didn't fight it, either. “You can't fix everything, Lin. You know that.”

“Somebody has to,” she groused.

“Yes, well... you at least know you can't fix everything _alone_ , right?”

“You've got my back?”

“Actually, I rather thought you'd lean on your sister, but sure.”

Lin reached up to flick her nose. “You're really okay, then, if I go to the newsies?”

“Why should I mind?”

“Because Raiko will fire back. We've managed to stay out of the papers, so far.”

Kya waved her hand “I've been there before. If anything, I'm worried _you_ might get tainted by your association with Avatar Aang's disappointing daughter.”

“Nobody said that.”

She shrugged. “That's a direct quote.”

Lin's head pulled back, her eyes narrow. “From who?”

Kya laughed, giving Lin a peck on the jawbone. “Don't worry about it. I got back at them myself.”

She enjoyed the snort that earned. “Did you, now?”

“Let's just say, I'm legally not allowed in Full Moon Bay anymore.”

Lin laughed, a real laugh, the kind it felt like nobody else ever got to hear. She rested her head on Kya's shoulder. “Tell the whole story.”

“It'll take a while.”

They began walking toward the couch. “Take a while then.”

So long as Lin was leaning against her like this, Kya intended to take as much time as she could.

 

 

***

 

 

Wing rolled his eyes, standing still as Wu straightened his ridiculous cravat. It was the one concession he'd made to Wu's style, and he'd managed to pass it off as a way for people to differentiate him from his twin.

But really, letting Wu fuss about his appearance was worth looking a little ridiculous. Besides, the rest of his look was professional enough for the other delegates to take him seriously, in spite of his youth.

As to the (mostly true) whispers about what the two roommates got up to... so far, the convention had much bigger things to worry about. And it was only illegal in some of the most backwater parts of the continent, nowhere with near enough political clout to make A Thing of it, should it come to light.

Still. Better not to fully make an issue of it yet. “You go on ahead.”

“I wish we could walk in the hallways together,” Wu pouted. “Mako always used to walk with me.”

“There's plenty of things I do with you that Mako didn't.” Wing winked.

Wu laughed, long and light. “Too true! Do you think he knows about us?”

Wing raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah it's pretty obvious he... look, just go on ahead, okay?”

Wu finished with the cravat, pirouetting toward the door in a way he probably thought looked charming. It looked ridiculous, but Wing found _that_ oddly endearing, and spirits Wei would never let him hear the end of this.

Finally alone in the room, Wing again started reading over the confederation proposal. It was in, what, the ninth draft, now? Draft three had come closest to passage, but that was before more Red Lotus aligned representatives had taken seats. Now there were Kuvira loyalists too, and about a third of the states were actually fighting each other with troops and everything. Getting even half the convention to agree to anything was basically impossible, even if that was terms by which all the states would become independent.

He could really use a good game of power disk. Way easier than all this.

More time passed than he intended before he got disgusted with reading, and he rushed out the door, in a hurry to make today's session. Some of the farming states were going to bring up something about tariffs, and while Wing didn't exactly understand all the ramifications of it, the rest of his party had made up its mind and it wouldn't serve to miss a vote—

Wing turned a corner quickly, bumping into another delegate. “Pardon,” he said, recognizing the man as part of Kuvira's faction. Why was he going away from the—

The other delegate grabbed Wing's shoulder, and before he could react, stabbed him in the gut.

Wing grunted, grabbing the man by the arm and ramming him into the wall. The knife twisted in his side, and a scream escaped his throat. The other man slipped away, his shoulder sagging.

Wing metalbent one of his cufflinks into the back of the man's skull, knocking him flat. Maybe killing him. Hard to say, when he'd fallen to his own hands and knees.

“Guards!” he shouted, more weakly than he expected. That was bad. He let himself fall to his unstabbed side, leaving the knife in place. “Guards...”

 

 

***

 

 

Opal watched the clock, waiting impatiently by the phone. Her mom had objected, at first, to Opal taking over her office once a week, but she had the only private international phone line in the city. Besides, she hadn't taken much convincing when Opal had asked sweetly and also promised to let her plan the wedding. But as long as Opal was stuck here, she _needed_ these calls.

The phone finally rang and she answered in a flash. “Bo!”

Bolin sighed into the phone. “Hi.”

Opal grinned at his dreamy tone. “How are you doing? Are you eating well?”

“Opal, you always ask that, and you know I've fed myself fine for years before we met.”

“Technically, I don't _know_ that. And I've heard some of the things you got a taste for, growing up.”

“Hey, not everybody has pirate chefs making them kale!”

Opal snickered, twisting the cord around her fingers. “How are things?”

Her fiance sighed, not as dreamily this time. “For me, good. You? Kuvira still around?”

Wince. “No, she's off campaigning again. I don't get it, Bolin! She insists she hasn't conquered the city, but she's using us as her base of operations. Mom still regrets not arresting her as soon as she set foot in Zaofu, but how do you do that when somebody just saved you from an attack?” Especially knowing that she can kill her way back out if she wants.

“Well, so long as everything's still... good, I guess. I'm kind of low-key supposed to tell Bataar if anything is wrong that Suyin doesn't want him to know about.”

Opal snickered. “As good as it can be, I guess. Did you manage to see Asami this week?”

“Uh... no. I _tried_ to again today, but she brushed me off. Something about subway construction.”

She pressed her lips thin. She'd tried to call a few times, but Asami had been pleasantly curt. “Still no word from Korra?”

“None! This is worse than when she went to the South Pole. At least then, we knew where she was.”

It was an accidentally callous, totally Bolin thing to say. Korra had been in a terrible place then—but from what she'd heard after Kuodan, she was now, too, even if she was physically fine. “She and Asami were doing so well... This is all a huge mistake.”

“You don't think they're...” he switched to a whisper, “broken up?”

“Well, they certainly aren't together.” She leaned forward against the desk. “Korra is a pretty decisive lady, most of the time. If she wanted to break things off officially, she'd have marched right back to Republic City and done it. She didn't.”

“But she's not talking to Asami, either. Or anyone, except maybe Jinora. Maybe. And that's just because she can't avoid her.”

Opal straightened. “Jinora's been talking to her?”

“More like 'at' her, from how Kai tells it. Ugh, Opal, what are we gonna do?”

That was trademark Bolin too: how could he help? “Both of them handled this gun thing badly. But Korra doesn't want to come home and have that conversation, because she's afraid it _will_ be a fight and it _will_ break them up.”

“She is? How do you... oh you haven't talked to her you're just doing that girl telepathy thing again.”

Opal rolled her eyes. “Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. We need to find a way to get them talking, but in a safe and controlled way. Need to remind them how much they love each other before they try to talk this out.”

“How are we supposed to do that, though?”

“Without being able to talk to either of them?” Opal shrugged. “Bolin _, you're_ never going to run away for months because you're afraid to have a fight with me, are you?”

“I'm terrified of fighting with you, Opal.”

“Bolin...” she warned.

“But... I will stand my ground and disagree with you when I must, just like you want.”

“You're not just saying that,” she said, her eyes narrow.

“No! No, I am totally, one hundred percent prepared to have an argument.”

“Good.”

“I really don't wanna though.”

She laughed. “Me either.”

 

 

***

 

 

Korra hesitated at the crest of the hill.

She'd heard who was waiting for her, if she continued. Rumors she'd heard while tackling warlords had clashed, mixed, confused. Zaofu had fallen. Zaofu had held. Kuvira had conquered it. Another warlord had. They'd released Kuvira to fight the warlord.

The rumors had solidified, impossible as they'd seemed. Another warlord, one of the old Council of Five, it was said, tried to conquer the city, but Kuvira—somehow free, at the head of an army—had come to its rescue. A portion of that army was camped outside the city still. But the only reason the city had survived long enough to be rescued was some mysterious new weapon from Republic City.

It didn't make sense.

But then again, nothing made sense anymore. So that fit.

She wouldn't be there.

The siege was months ago, and she still had a company to run.

What would Korra do, if she _was_ there?

She shuddered. She didn't know.

Suyin would be there. She would have news. Real, concrete information.

Still, she hesitated.

There was a dark figure in the path not far from her. Standing, preternaturally still, hair a wild tangle. Almost glowing.

Korra closed her eyes.

Nothing made sense anymore.

She gathered her courage, and strode past the ghostly image that had been shadowing her since Kuodan. Ignoring the cold gaze that followed her. Ignoring the rifle, slung along its back. Ignoring the pale skin, the Equalist glove, the ruby lips, the perfect face she knew so well, the face that she—

Korra walked toward Zaofu, her eyes hard.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and any sort of fan interactions really energize me and make this feel worthwhile. Let me hear what you've got to say!


	23. Telephone

_Dear Korra,_

 

_I just got back to Republic City, and got some more solid information from Bolin about what happened. I'm so, so sorry. The Fire Nation cultural district is still in shock and mourning, but I never imagined it could have been one of_ my _weapons._

_Bolin also told me you weren't happy about those. I'm not sure what to say about that. It was something I developed while you were away, something I thought could help. Countries could use them for defense, non-benders could protect themselves more evenly from benders. I never imagined a country would use them on its own people!_

_And now, history will record that one of my inventions killed one of our greatest and most heroic leaders. I was supposed to go into the office today, but after hearing that... I can't leave the apartment. I just feel so sick about it. This wasn't how it was supposed to work, not at all. Back in Zaofu, they did just what I wanted. We almost saved the city with just the rifles alone. So why is it I can't stop thinking about the time we met Lord Zuko in the desert? Now he's gone, and it's like it's my fault._

_It's not my fault, is it?_

_I'm worried about how Bolin said you've been acting. I know things are pretty bleak, but what he said... it scares me, Korra. After worrying so much about Tenzin, and then finding all of that... I can't imagine everything you must be thinking and feeling right now. I wish I were there to help you with it. I wish you were here, to help me too._

_The bed is too big for one person. The apartment is too quiet._

_Hopefully somebody in the Fire Nation capital will know how to get this to you. I keep calling anywhere I think you might be. Nobody knows where that is, though._

_Please be okay. I need that, very much._

 

_Love,_

 

_Asami_

 

 

***

 

 

Korra strode into the armed camp, not really caring who saw her. Everybody recognized her, of course, but nobody approached, much less tried to stop her.

Of course, her reputation from the past few months was somewhat more intimidating than it had been last time she'd walked into one of Kuvira's camps. Matter of fact, the last warlord had surrendered as soon as she'd named herself. If the rest of the old Earth Kingdom went like that, she could have the whole situation wrapped up in a few months, and then—

“Then what?” Dark Asami asked, walking beside her. “Then you'll come back to me?”

She ignored her—it. It wasn't real.

“You'll come back, even after finding my weapons in Red Lotus hands?”

That group... it had been difficult to show them mercy. To understand them. Her new way. Mercy. Empathy...

What was the point?

“You should have wiped them out,” said Asami's voice. “They deserved it.”

Asami would never say that.

Asami also hadn't told her about the rifles.

Korra stopped, in spite of all the soldiers watching her, and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.

“This isn't about Asami,” she whispered to herself.

Dark Asami merely laughed. A cruel sound, the sort of laugh she'd never heard from the real Asami. Korra wondered how she'd imagined it.

Korra centered herself, continuing toward the center of the camp.

Most of the camp was comprised of earthbent buildings, not unlike the evacuation camps outside of Republic City. But if they'd taken Zaofu, why weren't the soldiers quartered inside?

Banners fluttered outside of one building, otherwise the same as all the others. Still, Korra recognized it as the command quarters. The guards outside had seen her coming, and let her pass with little more than a wary look.

A man in an Earth Empire uniform was waiting for her. So, surprisingly, was Suyin.

“Korra,” she said, eyes running over her, assessing. She covered the distance between them, pulling her into a quick hug. “I can hardly believe it!”

Korra's arms hung in the air a moment, before lightly hugging her back. It felt good, to have someone's arms around her, somebody that cared about her. The familiar ache of loneliness she'd grown accustomed to roared to prominence, and she nearly groaned as Su pulled back.

She'd been away too long. “I hope I'm not late for dinner. I've been walking for a while.”

Suyin smiled at her smirk. Korra was a little surprised she'd bought it. Though the food _would_ be welcome. And as much as she'd dreaded company, as much as part of her shrieked to finish quickly and fly back into the countryside, into duty, another part of her almost wanted to claw into Suyin's arms and dive into a deeper embrace. 

“You're going crazy,” Dark Asami said, behind Suyin. “Or maybe, you never stopped. You thought you could be happy, after all.” 

She'd never considered how lucky she was that the dark version of herself that had been haunting her never spoke.

“So, obviously you're not a prisoner,” Korra said, glancing between Su and the officer. “What exactly _is_ going on up here?” 

“That's actually something we're continuing to discuss,” the man said, offering his hand. Korra took it warily. “General Nyota.” 

She gave him a nod, turning to Su. “Kuvira  _is_ out in the field again, then.” 

“Yes she is, and I'm certainly not going to defend her,” Suyin said, crossing her arms. “She murdered her way out of her cell here, then proceeded to reclaim part of her army, march in, and _save_ my city.” 

“ _Kuvira_ saved Zaofu? I thought she was attacking it.” 

“Everybody assumed that,” Nyota said. “The fog of war makes fools of us all.” 

Suyin nodded. “That's right. A little more information to the right people at the right time would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. Korra...”

“What is Kuvira doing now?” 

“Korra, we never would have held out as long as we could have without Asami's help. I'm not entirely sure what's going on with you two—fog of war again—but—”

Korra turned to the General. “What's Kuvira doing now?”

He glanced at Suyin, to see if she was going to finish her thought. “She's marching southeast, through Red Lotus territory. It's odd—she's just as driven as before, if not more so, but back then, we had a goal in mind. Kuvira isn't trying to pull her Empire back together, but before you ask, I don't know what she  _is_ up to, either.” 

Korra thought back to her moment with Kuvira, in the Spirit World.

“The Spirit World?” Dark Asami asked. 

Korra looked at Su so she wouldn't focus on voices that weren't there. “When I defeated her, it was because I understood her. She wanted security. She wanted control. If she doesn't think her empire is the way to do that anymore... how else does she think she'll get it?”

“I'm not sure I ever knew her as well as I thought I did,” Su sighed. 

“Does anyone truly know anyone, though?” Dark Asami asked, stalking behind her. Korra swallowed, kept her gaze hard and steady. 

“One thing I can tell you,” Nyota said, “is that we are not your enemy. Kuvira was very explicit about that. Your orders are to override even hers.” 

Korra blinked. “My orders?”

Nyota nodded. “The whole command staff knows it.”

“So... if I ordered you to disband?” 

“We would... but I can't say where all the soldiers would go. Soldiering is about the only thing keeping a lot of them out of banditry.” 

She took a deep breath.

“Korra, why don't we head back to the city,” Suyin said. “You look like you could use a shower and a change of clothes, and maybe a few days somewhere you can get in contact with the world and catch up with what's going on.” 

Korra knew full well what she was talking about. And subtext aside, Korra  _did_ need to catch up with world affairs. But talking to Asami? 

What would she say? What would she ask? What did she need to hear? What if she heard it?

She wasn't ready.

What wasn't she ready for?

“Korra?” 

“Yeah! Sorry, Su. I have to admit, a bath _does_ sound nice.”

“Good,” Su said, smiling thinly. 

 

 

**

 

 

Tenni answered the phone. “Office of Asami Sato.”

“Tenni, is it? This is Suyin Beifong. Is Asami available?”

Asami's door was closed. She'd asked not to be disturbed. Tenni was supposed to pretend not to know Asami was crying. “Unfortunately not. Can I take a message?”

“Korra is here.”

Tenni leapt to her feet fast enough to send her reports flying. “Right now!?”

“Well, right now, she's in a bath, enjoying the full range of pampering I can make available to make her stay put.”

Tenni looked about her desk for a loose piece of paper and a pen, not sure what she intended to write. “How is she?”

“I'm... not sure if I should be discussing the Avatar's emotional state with—”

“Asami's losing her mind, Miss Beifong. I've been with Ms. Sato for years. I watched her pine for Korra while she was recovering in the South Pole. This is worse. Let me _help_.” 

The matriarch of Zaofu took a breath. “Korra isn't much better. She tried to smile like everything was normal, but she stared at me with this look of desperate focus, like she was inches away from cracking. As happy as they made each other, how did it come to this?”

“They're both stubborn,” Tenni said, lowering herself back into her seat. “And they're both woefully inexperienced with relationships.” 

Suyin snorted. “If I can find the White Lotus elder who decided the best thing for the Avatar growing up was never letting her interact with children her own age... but that's beside the point. Can you get Asami here?”

“Maybe if I tied her up and threw her in an airship myself,” Tenni said, honestly giving the notion thought. “I don't know, though. She writes letters, sending them off to wherever Korra was sighted last, but whenever someone suggests she go after the Avatar herself, she just dismisses the idea.” 

“She's probably afraid Korra is avoiding her,” Su sighed. 

“Korra _is_ avoiding her _._ ” 

“Well, obviously. But right now, she can pretend she isn't.”

That sounded exactly the kind of crazy Tenni was accustomed to. “So, what's the plan then?”

“We need to get them to _talk_ to each other. Even if they have a fight, even if they break up, it can't be worse than it's gotten.” 

Tenni bit her lip. She wasn't so sure about that. But the situation as it was was untenable. “Let me make a few calls. But whatever you do, keep Korra  _there_ !” 

“I'll do what I can.” 

 

 

***

 

 

Kai stretched his neck, stiff from the mid-day meditation practice. He had to admit, this airbender thing was a pretty cushy place to end up. Somewhere steady to sleep, free food—though he did miss meat, and cheated a little when he was on missions—and a growing respect from the everyday people of the world. They'd built a good reputation for themselves as dependable, respectable defenders of the innocent.

Not exactly where he'd expected his life to end up, but compared to a thief on the streets, he certainly couldn't complain.

The pay, however, stank.

He was contemplating exactly what that might mean for his future plans—what exactly did couples do in Air Nation culture anyway?—when he heard the phone ringing in Tenzin's study.

Kai looked around. Nobody was about to answer it—Tenzin and Jinora were off at some meeting, and everyone else was going about their duties. People didn't generally call the private line unless it was important...

He shrugged, stepped in, and picked up the phone. Nobody could get mad if he said who he was. “Air Temple Island. This is Kai.”

“Um, hello,” the lady on the other side said. “I thought this was Master Tenzin's number?”

“He's currently unavailable,” Kai said, picking between his teeth with his fingernail. “Would you like to leave a message.”

“I suppose... wait. Kai... you're the one dating Jinora, right?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “And you are?”

“I'm Tenni, Asami Sato's personal assistant.”

“Oh. Still not sure how you know who I am.” And not exactly happy he was, again, 'Jinora's boyfriend.' He got it, his girlfriend was amazing, but he was more than that!

“I keep detailed files on everybody in my boss's social circle. Any one of you people can land a crisis on her doorstep, and when she's off dealing with it, it's usually up to _me_ to keep things running at Future Industries.” 

Kai made a note to get some pastries for this woman. Well-informed assistants are precisely the sort of allies worth having. “I'll buy that. So, what were you looking for Tenzin for? Is this about a wingsuit order, or—”

“I know where Korra is.” 

“Oh!” Everybody in the world had been wondering that, particularly the negotiations Tenzin was attending. “Is... is Asami with her?” 

Tenni gave an exasperated sigh. “That's what we're working on.”

“Oh, we're _scheming_!” Kai laughed. “I'm totally on board. How can I help?”

“Well... I was more hoping that Master Tenzin might help organize as many of the Avatar and Ms. Sato's friends into a combined effort. Neither of them know what's good for them sometimes, and will stubbornly refuse help unless they're tricked into it.” 

Kai smirked. “You wanted  _Tenzin_ to help you be sneaky? I'm sure he's game to help, but he's not the person you want organizing this. I got it.” 

“But—” 

“I _got_ it, Tenni. You focus on your boss, you're probably in the best position to maneuver her, since Opal isn't in town. Maybe get Zhu Li aboard. Varrick, if you're desperate. I'll handle things on the airbender end.”

“Aren't you like, eight?” 

“I'm nearly sixteen! Besides, Jinora can spirit-project to anybody faster than trying to call all of them. We'll need every advantage we can find to get those two nerds back together.” 

Tenni laughed. “Alright, Kai. Let me give you my number so we can coordinate. You  _are_ going to take this seriously?” 

“Like the fate of the world depends on it, ma'am. Because I know both of 'em, and it might.” 

 

 

***

 

Jinora held her father's arm as they stepped off the ferry, but let go of him as his feet settled on the shore. She'd be there if he stumbled, but it was better for him to rely on his own strength.

The meeting had run long, and like most of those before it, hadn't resolved much. Everyone agreed the Foggy Bottom swamp, the Republic City Spirit Wild, and anywhere else with high enough spiritual energy for spirit vine to grow would be protected by the final treaty, but it was still a question as to who would enforce that and how it would be paid for and... and really Raiko talked too much. She was happy to be home.

She was happier still to see Kai walking down to greet them. “Good, you're all here! We have a mission.”

Tenzin leaned on his cane. “That sounds serious. What's happened?”

“We know where Korra is.”

Even Eska looked a little shocked at that. “Is she okay?” Tonraq asked. “Where is she?”

“She's in Zaofu, but I... actually don't know for sure how she's doing,” Kai said, scratching the back of his head. “I got word from Asami's assistant. Her main concern was how much their breakup is messing with Asami's head.”

“They're not broken up,” Jinora insisted. “They're just... not talking.”

She caught Eska blinking at her. “How, then, are they not broken up?”

“Asami was her closest friend before they were together,” Tenzin said, stroking his beard with his free hand. She watched his knees warily. “I could understand if they'd had an argument, but so far as I know, they haven't communicated at all in six months.”

Tonraq crossed his arms. “Korra always had two ways she'd tackle problems. Usually, it would be head-on and aggressive, but when it came to other people's feelings, especially if she was afraid she'd disappointed them or hurt them... she'd run away. Why do you think she ran away from everything, when she was hurt?”

Eska tilted her head. “I thought that was to recuperate after nearly dying, and to purge the last of Zaheer's poison from her body. She suffered no such injury in Kuodan.”

“Didn't she, though?” Jinora asked, glancing at Kai. “Asami was the person Korra thought she knew best in the world, and finding out her girlfriend invented those rifles, and that Korra hadn't heard a thing about it...”

“I remember when she thought I was plotting a rebellion,” Tonraq rumbled. “It broke her heart.”

“But,” Eska said. “You did lead a rebellion.”

“After I was falsely imprisoned for a revolt I took no part in.”

“Maybe we're getting a little off topic?” Kai pointed out. “The point is, it sounds like Korra is hurting. And we know Asami is. We're not just gonna let this keep going on, are we?”

It was only her father's weak knees that kept Jinora from dropping all sense of decorum and rushing over to hug him then and there. She knew he was sweet and caring, but that romantic resolve to see their friends' love restored! She had some books she might just have to start sharing with him. The ones dad thought were 'histories.'

“You know _I'll_ do anything to see my daughter happy,” Tonraq said. “But what exactly can we do?” 

“We need to be the White Lotus,” Jinora said quietly.

“The White Lotus?” her father asked. “How will they help?”

She shook her head. “Not the White Lotus here. We need to be like the old White Lotus, the historical one. The secret society that transcended borders and worked in the background toward the common good.”

“The common good being, getting Korra and Asami back together?” Kai asked with a smirk.

Jinora nodded energetically. “Yes, yes exactly!”

“That... is certainly a strategy,” Dad said, “but it takes us no nearer to an actual plan of action. Besides, both of them are fully grown adults. While I lament where their relationship has taken them, is it really appropriate for us to meddle, rather than allowing them to work it out themselves?”

“Korra... _is_ rather against meddling,” Tonraq admitted. 

“Maybe that's because you two stink at it,” Kai said. He raised his hands before either could object. “You both have acted out of love, I know. So did she, though. But see, here's the trick when it comes to scam... I mean, motivating people into doing something they're avoiding. You can't make them do it if they don't want—you have to make them think it was their own idea.” 

Jinora winced at the slip, bringing up his past, but her dad didn't respond to it this time. “Think of it like airbending,” she said. “Sometimes, it's easier to push something with the wind, but other times, you have to pull the wind in front of it. It's more subtle, that way.”

“I wish all of you well on this,” Eska said, stepping out of the group. “I believe we would all agree I would not be good at emotional mind games. I have hunger, and know how to deal with that problem.” 

She'd gotten used to Eska's abrupt ways in the time she'd been on the island, and knew that the Northern Chief meant exactly that—she did wish them all luck, and was self-aware to know how little help she would be.

“Not so fast,” Kai said, touching her shoulder as she began to pass. “That very reputation of yours might come in handy. Are you at least willing to help, if we ask you?”

Eska was glaring at his hand, and did not respond until he removed it. “Of course.” She straightened her sleeve. “I would prefer to see Cousin Korra happy. Besides, a lonely and frustrated Avatar cannot be good for the world. I did not lie when I said I was hungry. Good night.”

Jinora looked at her father, his knees locked, his grip on his cane firm but relaxed. She resisted the impulse to suggest going inside—the open field of view guaranteed their privacy in a way that being in the temple, where her siblings could be hiding anywhere, never could.

“Well, we know Eska won't take the lead on all this,” Kai said, turning back to the group. “Who—”

“I'll do it,” Jinora said, careful to not sound too eager. “After all, projecting makes me the best able to communicate with everybody.”

“You didn't know Korra was heading to Zaofu,” her father said.

“Korra didn't _want_ us to know where she was headed. And she kept moving. But she's in Suyin and Opal's territory now, and you _know_ they'll keep her in one place long enough for us to fix this. We just need to get Asami there.” 

“I don't know,” Tonraq said, scratching the back of his neck the same way Korra did. “If she wanted to talk to Asami, I'm sure she would have.” 

“Do you want to be a part of this, or not?” Kai asked. 

“Kai,” Jinora scolded him. “Chief Tonraq, there is a pretty wide difference between what Korra actively wants, and what she's simply avoiding dealing with. But all of us here _know_ how much she loves Asami, and how much Asami adores her. Right now, that love is working against them, keeping them from actually confronting their issues.”

“As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm,” Dad said, “Jinora, so far as I know, you and Kai have never fought, not really.” 

“If this is another age thing—”

“It's an experience thing,” Tonraq said. “Having a disagreement like this, with the person you care about most in the world... it brings out the worst in you. Everything hurts.” 

“Which is why we want to help.” 

“And I didn't say we shouldn't.” Tonraq and her dad shared a glance. “But we have to be very careful, and we have to be ready for this to go poorly. It's possible they've hit upon an issue that their relationship can't survive. We have to be willing to be there to console them both, if that happens.” 

“It _won't_ happen,” Jinora said firmly. 

“I hope you're right,” her dad said, a hand on her shoulder. “But in the end, we have to support whatever is healthiest for them both.” 

Jinora crossed her arms, looking way. “Fine. We still have to get them in the same place, though. Maybe Opal and Su can keep her there for a while, but how do we get Asami to Zaofu? A business deal?”

“I'll keep talking to Tenni about that,” Kai said. “She controls Asami's schedule, and from the sound of it, if she told Asami she'd already been planning to go to Zaofu for months, Asami would probably believe her.” 

Tenzin shifted his weight, not quite as gracefully as he wanted, but he got the cane in place fast enough to cover. “I find it hard to believe Asami Sato could be so distracted as that.”

Jinora believed it. They had to act fast.

 

 

***

 

 

“Opal! There you are.”

Opal smiled, stopping on her way between two domes as Jinora's translucent form descended. “You're getting better at not startling people.”

“It tends to work better when I appear mid-air and get my bearings. Korra's here?”

“Word travels fast!” Opal chuckled. “Mom's giving her a massive pamper attack. I haven't seen her yet—I was just on my way, actually—but if I have to tackle her long enough to get a straight story out of her, I'll do it.”

“Well, we need you to tackle her for longer. We're all working on getting Asami there.”

Opal shifted her hips. “'We all?'”

“Yeah, basically everyone. You've heard how bad off she is, and I can't imagine Korra is much better.”

“From what mom said, no. Like, she's not hurt, physically at least, but she's definitely off. Mom's super worried.”

“So are we. Listen, Opal. We're going to do what we can, we have Asami's assistant on board, but we need you to keep Korra there. Stick to her like glue.”

“Got it!” Opal saluted. “I can ask her advice on rebuilding the Northern Air Temple, we can discuss the political and military position out here... how are you going to get Asami here though? I'm sure mom would be completely on board with helping, and she did promise Asami a presence in the city.”

“That might work as pretext, though considering what Korra did to Future Industries in the Fire Nation, maybe don't mention that to her.”

“I'm not going to mention any of this. I know how secret missions work.”

Jinora raised an eyebrow. “You're sure? You tend to get... pretty excited when talking about Korra and Asami together.”

“They're so _adorable_ though!” 

“They did seem very happy. And they're our friends. We can do this for them, in spite of themselves, right?” 

“Absolutely. I'm gonna go chat her up now. I'll call the island to report, you better not blink here to talk to me or she might get wise to what we're doing. In fact, you might blink in and talk to Korra in a while. You know, throw her off the scent.” She winked. 

“Opal, did you just wink?” 

“No. Why would I do that?” She winked again. 

Jinora rolled her eyes. “You and Bolin really are perfect for each other. Keep me posted.”

“Right. Anything it takes to keep her grounded. Operation: Avatar Stall is a go.” 

Jinora sighed, and flickered away.

 

 

***

 

 

“Are... you planning to let go of me some time soon, Opal?” Korra chuckled, blushing a little at the prolonged embrace. Opal was a pretty lady, after all, and Korra was still damp from her bath. Her hair was dripping on the carpet in her loaned-out room.

“Is it making you feel better?”

Korra rolled her eyes. “A little,” she admitted, grudgingly.

“Well, it's making _me_ feel better. Bolin has been stuck in Republic City for _ages_ , and it's been so stifling being back here after being out in the world for so long. I'm going stir crazy!” 

Korra wriggled out of Opal's hug. “Why don't you go back, then?”

“While there's still warlords running around and the convention is still going on?” She shook her head. “Plus, Jinora assigned me to organize rebuilding of the Northern Air Temple, given my connections here. You should come see it! I'd love to have your input.” 

She's never gotten to see the Northern Air Temple. Somewhere else she should have acted sooner. "Well, hopefully I can help with the warlords. Once I get a handle on what's going on here, and figure out what to do about Kuvira, I'll be on my way—”

“No!” Opal snapped, taking hold of Korra's arm. “I mean... Korra you're exhausted. You need to spend a few days resting, at least. You'll wear yourself out if you don't pause and regroup once in a while.” 

She really was going a little stir crazy, wasn't she? “Okay. Maybe we can go to the temple site tomorrow.”

“Oh, it can't be tomorrow. I have some important meetings with some of the work crews. Rebuilding the domes has given us a good way to employ a lot of those would-be bandits, and building the Air Temple might do the same thing.” 

“I guess,” Korra said, rubbing the back of her neck. Opal felt... a little off. “Talking with Su should take most of tomorrow, at least. The day after?” 

“That can... probably work. Maybe we can stay the night there! Camp under the stars, get a feel for the wind patterns, that sort of thing! Doesn't that sound restful?”

The sun had never set in the Spirit World. Stargazing felt sweet and calming, even a little intimate. Only, Opal wasn't the person she'd have wanted to do that with. “Maybe? I'm not sure what exactly you want to hear from me, though. You're building a building, and it's not like I'm an... architect.”

“You were going to say 'engineer,'” Dark Asami murmured in her ear. Korra covered her surprised backwards glance as flicking her hair from her eyes. “She knows it. You're transparent, Korra. You always have been. How do you think I played you so easily?”

“Are you okay?” Opal asked, leaning forward. “You look a little green there, suddenly.”

Korra shook her head. “I'm fine.”

She took Korra's wrist. “Because if you're ill—”

“I'm fine!” Korra yanked herself free, stepping away.

“Korra,” Opal said, and she winced. Sure enough, when Korra looked, Opal had the eyes of a wounded puppy.

Korra held her arms out, hugging Opal again. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. I'm just... a little on edge, lately. Maybe... maybe I should stay a day or two. Or go have Toph beat me up some more, that was oddly helpful.”

“You should _definitely_ stay,” Opal said, wounded look in her eyes gone in an instant. “Running all over the continent putting out one fire at time isn't a good strategy anyway, Korra. You need to step back, coordinate.” 

She nodded. “You're right. I need to get down to the root of the problem.”

Opal smiled.

“I need to go to Ba Sing Se.” 

“YeNO!” Opal blinked several times, her eyes wide. “I mean... I mean the government stuff happening there is important, but Wu and Wing and Mako have that all handled.” 

They'd finally gotten to Ba Sing Se, then? Good.

“You can do all the planning you need to here, can't you?” 

Korra crossed her arms, eyes narrowed. “Okay, Opal. Out with it. Why are you so set on me sticking around?”

“I... I'm not...” Opal swallowed, and took a breath. “Bolin and I are getting married!” 

Korra nodded. “I saw the proposal.” The last time she'd seen Asami.

Her gut lurched again, but she was ready for it this time.

“No, I mean... soon. Here in Zaofu. We're... we're trying to keep it a small ceremony, away from all the cameras in Republic City, you know how the newsies are. So we're doing it here, where we first met. And uh... I was really hoping you'd be here and take part in the ceremony. You practically introduced us, after all.” 

Korra smiled wide, but shaky. No wonder Opal had been acting so flustered. “Why didn't you say so? I'd be honored, of course. It's soon?”

“Y-yeah. Can't very well marry Bolin until he gets here, but it shouldn't take him long.” 

“Congratulations,” Korra said, pulling Opal into a tight squeeze. “I'm thrilled for you both.” She tried her best to sound that way, but all she saw over Opal's shoulder was the vision of the woman she knew would be coming as well. There's no way Asami would miss the wedding, either. 

But Korra couldn't exactly say 'no,' could she?

 

 

***

 

 

“Okay, okay!” Bolin said as Jinora rushed him to the phone. “I don't know what the big rush is... Hello?” he spoke into the receiver. “This is Bolin.”

“Hi, honey,” Opal said over the line. “I did a bad thing. How fast can you pack?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, things are really bleak and angsty right now, and they will be for a little while... sorry. That's how conflict works--but on the up side, the deeper the hole they fall in, the greater the triumph when it's resolved, right? 
> 
> Trust me.


	24. Homesick

_Dear Korra,_

 

_I don't know what's happening. I know you've been places where you could have called me. I know you're deliberately avoiding talking to me now. I know you destroyed my factories in the Fire Nation._

_Why are you doing this?_

_Future Industries had no investment in Kuodan whatsoever. I made sure all my holdings in the Fire Nation respected the environment and you know I treat my workers well. Are you leveling every industrial center, to appease the spirits? Is that what's going on?_

_Then why won't you talk to me?_

_Korra, I'm just confused. Kuvira is out again. I had a chance to stop her, but I didn't take it. I thought of how you would feel, if I took the shot. I thought of how I would feel about myself... I remembered my father, but I passed up that perfect chance. And now she seems, for the moment, to be fighting the worst of the warlords, without any imperial pretension._

_So maybe you were right about her. Maybe you were right to spare her, after all she'd done. I admire that you would have the strength to do that, to see the world from her eyes, to understand why she did what she did._

_Don't I deserve the same?_

_Maybe you have a good reason for what you're doing. Can't you trust me enough to tell me?_

_Please, Korra._

_I need to hear from you._

_Whatever you need to say to me, I need to hear it._

_Please._

 

 

_***_

 

 

An expected knock came on Katara's door. She planted her hands on the table, groaning as she stood. Her back was a little more hunched than it had been, and everything seemed to creak—guests always tended to worry when they heard it. “Come in,” she said, her voice as strong as ever as she shuffled toward the stove.

The door opened, as creaky as she was, and a woman and her son took hesitant steps inside.

“I'm just putting on some tea,” Katara said, by way of welcome. “Come in, have a seat.”

They did as they were told, quietly courteous as she busied herself in the kitchen, bending some water into a pot and setting it over the fire.

“You are allowed to talk, you know,” Katara said, still not turning toward them.

The woman—Caluqtiq—chuckled. “Sorry. We're both just a little... overawed.”

“Oh, there's not much to be awed at these days,” Katara said, smiling to herself. “And certainly not in comparison to you two. I'm the one who should be impressed.”

“But...” the boy said, his voice high, “you saved the world!”

“And you saved my son,” Katara said, turning toward them. Caluqtiq met her eyes, and in that moment, mother-to-mother, they understood each other.

Both of them would do anything, give anything for their children.

Anything.

Katara wore her well-earned grandmotherly smile, and moved toward them as quickly as her hips would let her.

“Tenzin told me all about you,” Katara said, “about how brave you both were, and what you went through. Just dreadful.”

“I...” Nuktik swallowed. “We couldn't save Lord Zuko. He was your friend.”

“Yes he was,” Katara said. “And I know he must've been honored to have known you both.”

“As were we,” Caluqtiq said, putting one arm around her son's shoulders. “He saved my life.”

Katara took a deep breath. She stood by Nuktik, who repeatedly glanced at her but was afraid to stare. She tilted forward. “They tell me you were pretty eager to meet me, young man! So you might as well get a good look.”

Nuktik looked at her, his eyes wide.

She smiled. “Hello.”

He laughed breathlessly. “Hi. You're my hero.”

Katara chuckled. “I only ever did my best to be good. But thank you.”

“You... you did so much! You beat up Pakku so girls could be full waterbenders, and you beat Azula, and you brought Aang back from the dead—”

The stab at her heart was small, now. Barely felt. Her smile didn't waver. “I have done some rather impressive waterbending in my time, I'll admit. I never did figure out spirit bending, though.”

“I... I'm a little more interested in healing,” Nuktik said.

Caluqtiq grew tense. Katara tried to remain at ease, but Kya had explained the entire situation to her. “I will happily teach you any healing technique I know,” she said, delaying what she knew was coming. Why do that? Why draw this out?

Nuktik swallowed. “Actually... I was wondering if you could... if you could fix me.”

There it was.

If Katara's joints would have let her, she would have knelt beside him. “I would very much like to hug you, Nuktik. May I do that?”

His whole body was shaking as he stood up. Caluqtiq's lips trembled as she watched, quietly. She knew. She'd always known.

These were the hardest conversations to have. In all her years, she'd never found a way to make them easier.

“Oh, dear boy,” Katara said, holding Nuktik against her. “There's nothing about you to fix.”

“There is though!” he strained. “My body, it's—”

“It's yours,” Katara said. “Nobody else has any say over it. Nobody else can tell you it's wrong.”

“ _I_ know it's wrong.”

Katara's throat grew tight, feeling his heart break. She hugged him close. “I'm sorry, Nuktik, but I can't change your body. Not the way you want. I wish I could. But your body is not you, your spirit—”

Nuktik shoved Katara away, tears streaming down his face as he ran out the door. Caluqtiq was right behind him, trying to call his name, but without the voice to do so. She left the door open behind her.

Katara moved to lean against the wall, staring out into the cold, unforgiving snow.

 

 

***

 

 

Asami drove.

It was one of the few things that she still enjoyed enough to get her out of the office. She'd slept a few too many nights on the couch there, in her former bedroom. Was she retreating to the past, trying to remember the simpler time when she, and her worries, had been much smaller?

Or was she trying to avoid the empty apartment, furnished for two people, inhabited by less than one?

She focused on the road. That was easy to do. It was a good balance, driving. It needed just enough of her attention that she could focus on it, without worrying. Without thinking, really.

Unfortunately, the construction site wasn't as far away as she would have liked. Part of her considered driving past, out into the country. Maybe spending the night out there, sleeping beneath the stars.

No. That would be even worse. She'd feel her presence there, the lack of it. Sleeping in the wilderness, a beautiful sky above... her. Alone.

She shook her head. Nothing she could do about that right now. She had work. There was always work, and she was good at it. She had to be good at it, or the board would vote her out. She had enough friends there telling her what the others said. Still too young. Her heart isn't in it.

And maybe that last part was right. After her mother, her father, and now—

Now nothing. Nothing was official, nothing was decided...

Nothing was all she heard. All she wished she could feel anymore and—

Her vision blurred, and she realized she was sobbing. She pulled over to the curb, arms tense in front of her as she struggled to collect herself.

Where had it gone wrong?

When had she messed it up?

She'd tried, and she'd tried, and she'd let herself believe...

Her head was shaking, disagreeing with herself. Korra wouldn't leave her. Not without a word. Not without an explanation. She was bigger than that. There was too much between them, she wouldn't—

Then where was she?

“Ma'am?” a voice said, startling her. She turned to the voice, a hand against her chest. A police officer, well-coiffed. Looked a little like Bolin, but that would be ridiculous. “Ma'am, are you alright?”

Her tears dried in an instant, once she knew she was being seen. “Yes. Yes I'm fine, officer.”

“Okay. Well, you can't park here, there's a hydrant.”

Asami glanced where he pointed, feeling foolish as she did it. “Of course.”

“Happens all the time. I keep saying they should paint the curbs a different color, maybe people would notice more.”

She swallowed. “That's an excellent idea.” She took note of it to pass along in the next city planning meeting.

“You're sure you're okay?”

Her lip was trembling in spite of how hard she willed it not to. She put her roadster back in gear, looking straight ahead, giving the officer a nod.

Distantly, she was aware that his car followed hers for several blocks. She drove slow, focusing on her body as much as the road. Forcing her shoulders to loosen, keeping her breath steady.

By the time she reached the construction site, she felt as strong as she had in weeks. She stepped out of her car again the indomitable Asami Sato, her stride long and confident.

“Foreman Wong?” she asked, taking a hardhat at the entrance to the dig site. The coordinator gave her directions, and after descending into the excavated tunnel, she soon spotted the frog-like form of Chu. Wong would, of course, be nearby.

“Good afternoon,” she greeted them both, setting her briefcase at the edge of the work table.

“Miss Sato,” Wong replied, not even looking up from the blueprint. He shook his head. “No, no Chu, we just can't take that route. The bend would be too sharp for the train to stay on the rails without slowing to a crawl.”

“Chu,” scoffed Chu. “Energy flows—”

“Like a river, yes fine, but we're not building a tunnel for energy, we're building a tunnel for a _train_. We're not arguing about this!”

Chu, surprisingly, accepted the statement without further argument. At least _somebody_ was communicating.

“Construction is proceeding as scheduled, then?" Asami asked. “For the primary route to Old Downtown, at least?”

“We're a little behind, but not much. We'll just have to work a few extra hours in the proving period. It should all be ready by the completion date, though.”

Asami nodded. She'd factored some degree of slippage for the tunneling process. “How soon before we can do our first test-run?”

Wong's eyebrow twitched. “That had to get pushed back a little. It won't be before you leave, but we could certainly do it before you get back. Would you rather us do that to save time, or wait for you?”

She tilted her head. “Get back?”

Wong heard her confusion, finally looking up. “From out of town. Your assistant let us know a few hours ago that you'd be away at least a week.” He pulled out a pocket schedule, flipping ahead a page, and handed it over.

Asami wasn't sure what something in Wong's schedule was supposed to prove, but he had, indeed, written it down. But she couldn't give the impression of poor communication at the top of the company. “Of course. I'll keep you notified of any further changes, but if I am not available, do the tests without me.”

Wong relaxed a little.

Best to change the subject. “Tell me, have you given any further thought to the idea of a tunnel to Air Temple Island? Now that a lot more people live there, relying on the ferry isn't always the best option.”

“Some places flow together as a whole,” Chu said, a serious look in his huge eyes. “Some places are part of the whole, by being apart.”

“Um... I'm afraid I didn't quite catch your meaning, Chu.”

“Chu,” the spirit sighed.

“He thinks the airbenders are better off just a little isolated,” Wong said. “It's more contemplative that way or something. Regardless, the island is one solid chunk of rock, sloped up too steeply from the floor of the bay. It would take a heck of a lot of earthbending to get a tunnel there, and people would have to climb a ton of stairs. If the airbenders need to make it easier for the world to meet with them, they'll need to open up an office in the city, like the other nations.”

Another good thought to file away for later.

“Asami!” she heard distantly, back toward the entrance.

“Come back!” cried another.

“Just a moment,” Asami said, stepping out of the workroom to see Bolin rushing toward her, while the site coordinator was chasing him with a spare hardhat.

She took a breath, set her hip. Asami had not been avoiding him precisely but... she didn't wish to talk to anyone. Not about anything real. She knew her friends were just concerned, but, if anything, the concern only made her feel worse.

She put on a smile for him. “Bolin. What are you doing here?”

“Been trying to track you down all d—yes hello, I saw the hats. I don't want one.”

“Sir, you can't just barge in here, and even if you could, you need—”

“Asami is an old friend of mine! See, we're talking, and—”

“Just take the damned hat, Bo,” Asami said, not precisely snapping, but far more tersely than she should.

“Yeah, okay, fine,” Bolin said, plopping the hat on. “Shoo.”

The coordinator gave Asami a look, but she nodded. Bolin was here, now, and the sooner they talked about whatever he'd come to talk about, the sooner she could—Spirits, she _was_ avoiding him. “What's up?”

“Well,” he said with a grin, “Opal and I are getting married.”

Asami chuckled. “I do recall hearing something about that.”

“In Zaofu. In about a week.”

She blinked. “Oh. That's... why so sudden?”

“You know how it is, a bunch of... complicated... things look I wanted to tell you myself so I went by your office and Tenni already cleared the time for you, she's really great by the way, you can tell her I said that. But the point is, we both _realllly_ want you there. It's hard enough getting Mako on the phone anymore, but the more of us there, the better!”

Her eyelids narrowed. “Bolin...”

He took a deep breath. “Yes, Korra will be there. I... know things are weird right now, but it's not like we'd spring that on you without telling.”

“I'd have figured it out and just gotten mad.”

“Yeah, that. You _are_ coming though?”

The faintest hint of skepticism broke her heart. How long had she been pushing him away? “Bolin, of course. I wouldn't dream of missing it.”

“Great! Hug time!” He swooped in, grabbing her around the waist, but their hard hats *bonked* against each other, making it more awkward than usual. But at least the hug was safe from falling debris.

The hug endured a little longer than she expected, but she found herself relaxing into it. His arms were warm and strong, and she was trembling. Korra would be there. Just over a week.

Korra.

“Well,” Bolin finally said, letting her go before the silence went on to long, “I should be moving. Still a lot of people to tell! So much to arrange!”

Asami smirked, putting a hand on one hip. “Uh-huh. You just came to me so you can ask to borrow an airship, didn't you?”

“Ah! I would _never!_ But since you mention it that would be really super nice of you...”

She rolled her eyes, patting Bolin on the cheek. “Of course I will, you goof. Now get going. We both have a lot to prepare for.”

Bolin smiled, thanked her again, and strode away.

She leaned against the wall, feeling the weight of the earth above, as if the entire dig site was about to close in around her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was no hardhat to cover her heart.

She'd been desperate for this for months, and now it was going to happen, and she was terrified.

Korra.

What was she going to do?

 

 

***

 

 

Kuvira lay in her tent, staring at the cloth roof above her.

It was the tiny things she missed. The way he'd fuss with a tent seam for half an hour to make sure it was straight, but leave with his uniform buttons misaligned. The care with which he'd place his eyeglasses in a case on the camp desk, then stumble vaguely toward the bed. The way his breath would catch as she cast off the last of her uniform.

The Avatar had vowed that Kuvira would never see Bataar again if she continued her attack. Then she'd gone and guaranteed it herself.

Somebody stopped just outside her tent. “Ma'am?”

Kuvira slid from the bed in a smooth motion, striding to her desk. “Enter.”

Her aide-de-camp took a step in. “Ma'am, a messenger arrived from our detachment in Lian Sho. It's been wiped out.”

“Lian Sho?”

He shook his head. “Our detachment. Apparently, Red Lotus forces rode down from the hills, and they were armed with Sato's rifles.

Kuvira took a deep breath. Maybe now, Suyin would actually agree to give her some. Though she doubted it. There was another loss—Suyin may never have been the woman either of them had wished her to be, but then, neither was Kuvira. “It's a total loss?”

“It seems so.”

She turned her back, hands clasped behind her as she ran through the list of resources, troop deployments, logistics chains. “There should be a mecha contingent attached to Colonel Song's column. Reroute them into the area with orders to hunt the raiders down. Capture as many guns as possible.”

“Won't that leave Colonel Song exposed?”

She only had so much mecha to work with. She only had so much of everything. “I also need a list of earthbenders and where they're stationed. From now on, it's earthwork defenses, every night, no exceptions. Any areas where the enemy has rifles, we may need to experiment with walling off our columns in transit as well.”

“That would be extremely taxing on our benders, Ma'am.”

“Not as taxing as a bullet. Go.”

The tent flap slid shut. Kuvira remained standing, contemplative.

This war was getting worse. And she knew she couldn't win it.

What was her goal, then? Prolong it as much as she could? Who did that serve?

She examined the map—paper, hand drawn. She'd spent weeks bending the metal map of her Empire on the train that had become her mobile base. It had been deliberately impractical, a show of power, that even a tiny detail like that was sharp and perfect. This map was torn and stained, with names of towns that no longer existed gracelessly crossed out.

If the old map had told the story of an unstoppable force, what story did this map tell?

She'd had less, when she'd pacified Ba Sing Se. That feat was how she'd gained the world's confidence to begin with.

Then she'd had everything when she'd attacked Republic City, and lost all of it. And not simply because of the Avatar—the rest of Korra's allies had done most of the work in defeating the Colossus. They were dedicated and organized, much as Kuvira had been, starting out.

Much as she was now. Starting again.

She hadn't intended to create an empire for herself, not at first. Gradually, more and more success had seen her goals blur, her priorities shift. At some point, it had been less about her saving the country, and more about _her_ saving it.

What was she fighting for, now?

You couldn't run a campaign without an aim. She still had a solid core of states that had done particularly well under her rule, that were still governed by her loyalists. She had corresponded with them cordially, but had yet to give them a clear indication of what she wanted of them, besides troops and supplies.

Figuring out what that was would be somewhat easier if the convention in Ba Sing Se would do so, first. But perhaps, to an extent they were waiting on her? While she and the Red Lotus communes were essentially fighting a civil war, the politicians were loathe to pick a side. Or perhaps, neither side was one they were willing to pick.

How could Kuvira force her country back together, when her own use of power was part of what kept it split?

Would the country actually be better off if she allowed the Red Lotus take over, if only so the war could end?

What's more, if somebody was arming them, would she even be able to stop them?

Her life folded back on itself. She was now where she had been, almost four years ago. Her country in shambles, and nobody else was there to help.

Only this time, she was alone.

As far as penance went, Kuvira was hard-pressed to think of a better one.

 

 

***

 

 

“How much further is it, Dad?” Ikki asked, walking at his side.

“It's that red building there,” Tenzin replied, pointing with his free hand, leaning on his cane more heavily than he wanted to admit. Ikki may not have been the best choice to bring, but he knew he should have somebody around if his strength gave out. Besides, Jinora was self-sufficient, and his other children needed to understand serious political matters as well.

“Why are we going to talk to the Fire Lord, anyway? Don't you get to see her at the meetings?”

As close as they were, Tenzin knew this conversation could take longer than he could stand to, well, stand. “Why don't we sit for a minute. It's a lovely day, after all.”

“Um, sure.”

Tenzin found a round bench encircling a tree, just outside of the Fire Nation consulate. His legs and his lungs relished the rest, though he was already dreading standing back up.

“Ikki... Fire Lord Izumi is obviously an important person. But she's also somebody I've known my entire life. When we meet in the negotiations, we're discussing politics, but today's visit is more about, well, family.”

“Oooh. You think she's still sad because Uncle Zuko died?”

He placed a calming hand on her shoulder before she zipped off. “Yes I do, or at least, I think that's part of it. But it might not be polite to bring it up, would it?” Not that way, at least.

Ikki scrunched her nose. “I wouldn't say it to _her_. But if you think she doesn't want to talk about it, then how can we help?”

Tenzin smiled, allowing his gaze to wander to the citizens walking the street, the cars gliding by. The city had returned to normal, or at least, it had found a new one. Why did everything still feel so unsettled? “Some conversations are hard. Fire Lord Izumi has always been a very private, driven person. She means well by her people, and the world, but I'm afraid the self-isolation that's plagued her family for generations got the better of her. Now, she's hurting, and has nobody to turn to.”

“What about her son?”

When he'd been in the city, General Iroh had seldom spoken of his family. Tenzin could scarcely imagine what was at play there. “I don't know. What I do know is, somebody important in my life needs help, and I intend to offer it.”

“Won't she think you're just being a nosy busybody who won't mind his own business all the time?”

“That's your sister talking,” Tenzin chuckled. “You're a sensitive, caring girl, Ikki. I've always been very proud of that, and I wouldn't change it for the world. But I think you'll find you get along with people a little better if you can exercise a bit of... let's say 'restraint.'”

“Uh-huh. So you don't want me to talk while we're in there?”

“I didn't say that,” he said, turning to her. “Just... make sure everybody is having the same conversation. And make sure you're not going to say something that sounds mean, even if you don't intend it to.”

Ikki crossed her arms, but nodded.

“Thank you, Ikki.” His breath had gotten back to normal, but instead of standing, he clasped his cane head in both hands. Perhaps they could extend this moment a little longer? It wasn't often he got one of his younger children alone, and his back and legs both preferred to stay seated a while more. “I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time with Aunt Kya.”

Ikki blushed, her hands clasping in her lap. Odd. “Well, you know. She was always in the South, growing up. She's fun to talk to!”

“I'm sure she is. When she's not talking about Lin all the time, at least,” he chuckled.

“Wh... what's wrong with her talking about Lin?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing at all. I'm happy for them. It's just, considering my own history with Lin, it often feels like she's teasing me. Besides, she talks about Lin so _often_ , any topic would become a bother if it's repeated enough.”

“So... you're really okay with it, then?”

“I don't see how it's my place to approve of it or not, but yes. They're an odd match, but I think they suit each other's weaknesses rather well.”

“Even if they're both girls?”

“Is that what this is about?” Tenzin chuckled. “She's happy. What more could I want for her?” Ikki was staring at her hands, her thumbs fidgeting against each other.

Ah.

“Ikki, is there something you wanted to talk about? Now, without your siblings or any acolytes around?

She swallowed. “Hmm? No. No, I'm fine. Are you all rested up?” She bounced to her feet. “Who knows how long the Fire Lord is going to be there waiting for us. Maybe we should get going, in case she gets busy or decides to go out for lunch or—”

“Ikki.” Tenzin took her hand. “Your mother and I love you.”

She looked away. “Yeah, I know that.”

“We always _will_ , too. Even if things seem scary or confusing to you, you know you can always come to us, right?”

“Y-yeah. But the Fire Lord, dad!”

Tenzin relented—she clearly didn't wish to talk about it yet. Perhaps she was still figuring things out. She had plenty of time, yet—but so long as she knew she had nothing to fear from her family.

Ikki helped him stand, though she had to brace her leg against the bench to do it. He held on to her shoulder as they entered the consulate, though not for support. At least, not support for him.

A member of Izumi's staff was waiting to take them to her room—he'd called ahead, but not informed Izumi herself. She just would have made an excuse why he could not possibly visit today, surely you have other matters to attend to as a head of state.

Tenzin quashed the argument he'd avoided on the elevator ride up. Ikki, for her part, was quiet too, but he couldn't say he blamed her.

They reached Izumi's room, and waited with the guards as they were announced. An uncomfortably long moment later, Izumi's aide came back out, a worried look in his eyes. “My apologies, Master Tenzin, but the Fire Lord is not taking visitors at this time.”

He'd expected this. “This is a matter of state. Surely she can see me for that.”

The man glanced at Ikki. “A matter of state.”

“Surely, the Fire Lord took Iroh with her on important matters in his youth, to prepare him?”

“Yes. Of course. Be that as it may, I can't well ignore the Fire Lord's instructions.”

“Not even when she's sad?” Ikki asked.

“Ikki,” Tenzin began.

“Um, no,” the man replied.

“Because she has to be really lonely, if she doesn't let anybody talk to her. And if she's really lonely and sad and she doesn't have anybody to hug her or cry with her or tell her it's okay, she's just going to keep on being sad until she's sad forever. You don't want the Fire Lord to be sad forever, do you? She probably wouldn't do a very good job if she was!”

Tenzin smiled firmly, a hand against her back, and looked to the guard. Surely, he could see that the Fire Lord's needs were better served by—

“Right. Would you like me to schedule an appointment for another time?”

 

 

***

 

 

“Oh, Mako!” Wu cried, throwing his arms around him as he entered the room with Tsu Ying. He dug his face into his shoulders. “It's horrible!”

Mako glanced at her, patting him gently on the back. “What happened?”

“Where's Wing?” Tsu Ying asked, glancing at their bed.

“He was stabbed!”

“Stabbed?!” Mako and Tsu Ying said together.

“Before he blubbers any further,” Wing said, stepping out of the bathroom, “I'm fine. A guard found me and got me healed pretty quickly. Turns out, in a city this big, there's a few waterbenders wandering around.”

Wu was still bawling against Mako. Tsu Ying rolled her eyes. “What _happened_ , though? Where's Wei?”

“Tearing through my attacker's room with Shu. It was one of the delegates, from Guo. Didn't even say anything, he just ran into me as I was going to the meeting hall and—” He mimed several gut-level knife thrusts.

“Don't _do_ that!” Wu whined, scampering back over to him and swatting his hands. “I hate even thinking about it!”

“Well, better it was me than you.”

Wu held his arms tight against himself, his eyes wide and watering. “Awww... that is the sweetest thing—”

“I think he just meant because you would've bled out in like two seconds,” Tsu Ying interrupted. “Seriously though, this obviously wasn't a random attack. What do we know? You said he was from Guo?”

“Yeah, Kuvira supporter. Maybe he blames my family for her defeat?”

“Maybe,” Mako said, scratching his brow. She swore, ever since she'd told him how cute that was, he did it all the time now. 'Not on purpose' her foot.

Wu was, somehow, still sobbing inconsolably. Wing rolled his eyes in a much less frustrated fashion than she had, guiding him to the bed and sitting both of them down. “The thing is,” he continued, “he wasn't terribly vocal. Guo may still call itself Earth Empire, but up until now he'd seemed pretty open to compromise. If anything, he seemed more like a bureaucrat than a loyalist.”

“Where is he now?” Tsu Ying asked, moving to their shared writing desk, scooting some papers aside—after quickly scanning them, never knew what information might come in handy—and leaning against it. “Are the guards interrogating him? Most of them are loyalists, too.”

“He's dead,” Wing said. “I mean, he stabbed a metalbender but didn't kill me.”

Wu's sobbing got loud again. Wing chuckled, his fingers running through his hair as he comforted him. The one who _hadn't_ been stabbed.

Odd as it was, the dynamic seemed to work, way better than she'd have thought two men _could_ work together, before leaving home.

“That seems _too_ sloppy,” Mako said. “It's not like your metalbending is a secret.”

Wing snorted. “Not my metalbending, no.”

Tsu Ying caught where Mako was going. “You think he _planned_ to get killed?”

“I don't know. We need to look into who this guy was. Did he do this for some personal reason, or was there politics behind it? Maybe Kuvira is working against Zaofu?”

“Then why didn't she take it over when she relieved it?” Wing asked.

“Are we not going to talk about the elephant-gorilla in the room?” Wu said somberly, still clutching Wing's side. “Maybe he did it just to get to me.”

“Things don't always revolve around you, Wu,” Mako said, pinching his nose.

“That's not what I meant.” Wu sat straight, tapping his fingers together. “I mean... what Wing and I are doing. Not everybody... is okay with that. Heck, there's times _I'm_ not sure it's okay.”

Tsu Ying looked away. And she'd been irritated at him?

“That can't be it,” Mako said.

“No,” she said sadly, thinking of how she'd have felt, had Mako been stabbed. “It damned well could.” She took a breath. “Or, at the least, it could give cover for whatever other motivation he had, as well as taking their relationship from an open secret to a public issue.”

“Ugh, that'll just distract everyone even more from the actual convention!” Wing groaned.

She and Mako glanced at each other. “Torru?” she asked.

“It sure fits the way he operates,” Mako nodded. “Chaos and confusion to drag things out. How'd he get a Kuvira supporter to do it though?”

Wu cradled his head in his hands. “I wish I'd never suggested a third chairperson! What if he drums _me_ out, what then? He'll probably manage to get someone on his side voted in!”

“It wasn't a bad idea,” Wing insisted.

“Torru's just one of those ideological assholes who takes advantage of the good ideas other people leave lying around. Just like he took Zaheer's message to mean what he wanted it to, and just like Zaheer took some old airbender stuff to mean what _he_ wanted. But look at what's actually going on—he keeps railing for decentralized power, but look who has put together the most coherent political organization in the capital.”

“It sure isn't us,” Wu groused.

“We need more information,” Mako stated. “Once Wei and Shu get back, we need to start looking into this guy's associations. Who he's been meeting with. Maybe it is... what you think it is, but why now? Somebody might have put the idea in his head, pushed him into it.”

“Maybe Torru's right,” Tsu Ying mused, shaking her head. She noticed the three looks of shock she was getting, and finished her thought. “I mean, about one thing. Not this, Spirits no. But, centralized power hasn't done much good for the people of the Earth Kingdom in the last few generations. Look at how things are run here! Murderous intrigue? Count me out.”

“But turning all the states into their own countries was my idea in the first place!” Wu whined. “I just want to make sure they're all still friends, because if they just start fighting each other, that's even worse than before.”

“That's what they're doing _now_ ,” Mako sighed.

The telephone rang.

“Ooo!” Wu leaped at the bed, excited to get a phone call. Wing snickered, smiling at the wiry man's energy. “Wu Hou-Ting speaking... Uh huh... Yes, he's here... May I ask who's calling?... Yes, I see. Just a moment.” He pressed the receiver against his shoulder. “Mako, it's for you. It's your brother, apparently.”

Mako blinked. He talked about Bolin all the time, and he'd called his brother now and then, when daylight aligned and he was able to get an international connection. But usually it took several tries and messages to set up. For him to call Wu's room to track him down...

“Bo?” Mako said, accepting the phone. “I'm fine, Bolin, what's going on?... Yeah, I got the announcement, it was... next _week_?...”

She and Wing looked at each other. Bolin was going to be marrying his sister, after all, and that had to be what they were talking about.

“No, that's great, it's just... It's just difficult to drop everything on such short notice. Wing was just—”

Wing punched him in the side, shaking his head quickly. 'Ow,' Mako mouthed. “No, I'm still here. There's just some very serious things going on right now... Oh, come on, you know I wouldn't dream of missing it! But you're dropping this on me pretty suddenly... Yeah, I get that both of their schedules are difficult to clear, but... look, I'm not arguing, I just—”

Tsu Ying crossed the space between them, crossing her arms and giving Mako a flat look. His objections caught in his throat. “I'll be there,” he said.

She twirled one finger around, for him to continue.

“And I'm bringing company.” He smirked at her. “Somebody you need to meet.”

 

 

***

 

 

Korra wasn't about to miss Opal and Bolin's wedding. She'd made a promise, and besides—this wasn't about her. She would smile and be there for her friends, like she had for Jinora's ceremony. If she could do that, two weeks after Zaheer nearly killed her, she could face Asami now.

“Of course, you couldn't well have stopped me carting you in,” the apparition said. “You were necessary set dressing, for Tenzin's announcement. Something to prove they could take your place.”

She cracked her knuckles, walking down the road. She'd be back before the wedding, definitely, but there were still things to be done nearby. Smugglers that Suyin thought were supplying Kuvira's troops, leftover stragglers from the battle a few months ago. Korra could deal with that. And it was better than all the useless baths and pampering Suyin was foisting on her. At least when she was dirty, she had an excuse to look so haggard.

“Or did you believe me when I said I was there for you? If you needed to talk?”

“You're not real.”

“Or anything.”

Korra took a breath. Once, she'd have done anything to get rid of the sinister apparition of herself. She'd fought it, and always, it had been stronger than her.

But of course, it wasn't _real_. She'd seen... she was seeing her weakness. It wasn't actually _there_.

The little light spirit had seen it, though. Or seemed to...

Korra shuddered. No, it wasn't real.

“What _is_ real?” Asami— _not_ Asami asked. “Friendship? Love? You can't see them, touch them, hold them. What is imagined? Can an unreal thing reach up and pull you from a tree?”

“That... I don't even know what happened, then. Obviously I didn't really get sucked into a pool of poison.”

“If you couldn't trust what you saw then, how can you trust it now?”

“I can't. I _know_ you're not here.”

“How can you trust what happened between us? Did you really go to the Spirit World with me?”

“With Asami. You're not real.”

“Were you really living with her? Would the Asami you thought you knew have invented _this_?” She unslung the rifle from across her back, thrusting it in Korra's face.

Korra turned away, sweating. “You're not real.”

“The guns are real. Zuko's death, all the blood you saw in Kuodan, that's real!”

“Stop!” Korra begged, arms wrapped around her gut. “Just stop...”

Movement through the ground gave her the briefest of warnings. Korra ducked to the side as a firebending blast came from the trees. The bandits must've heard her shouting at herself, and she'd been too in her own head to even realize it!

Well she realized it now, earthbending a column beneath her, sending her sailing back the way she'd came, then guiding herself to where the fire had come from with precision gusts.

Half a dozen figures were already scattering through the brush. She barreled toward one, clasping his foot in a rock-vise in one quick jab and careening past. She couldn't fight them all individually, and unless they were earthbenders, this should buy her enough time to deal with them.

The next fell as Korra approached, so she wrapped them in a full blanket of earth, just their head showing. Two down.

She paused a moment, long enough to hear where the next was tromping about. She bounded through the air, jetting fire from her hands and feet to cover the distance in one leap.

As she crested and began to descend, she got a look at the figure. Tall, and dark, leveling a rifle at her.

Korra gasped, jaunting to the side and caroming off a tree. She spun, dots floating in her eyes even before she hit the ground and skidded to a halt.

The person she'd seen—it was Asami. The vision, at least. But had it _just_ been the vision, or had she seen that face over someone who was actually there? Was there actually someone in the forest with a rifle, looking for her, or was everybody she'd seen still fleeing?

She groaned, sitting up quickly, then leaning back as her head made her slow down. She felt a scrape on her forearm where she'd impacted the tree, and left some skin behind. She could deal with that later. The bruises, the bleeding, that was fine, that happened every day.

Her visions had her losing fights again.

Korra scooted up, her back against the tree. She touched the roots, reaching out with her spirit...

There was nobody there. The two bandits were still where she'd left them, and everyone else was long gone.

She sighed, relaxing against the tree, not sure if she should believe it. Not sure what she should do. Where could she go? Who could she turn to?

Dark Asami knelt beside her. “If you ever need to talk... or anything...”

Korra covered her face, and wept.

 

 

***

 

 

Senna set a cup of tea in front of her. Caluqtiq smiled weakly, cupping her hands around it. “I take it the meeting with Katara didn't go as you'd hoped?”

Caluqtiq sighed. “I didn't want to get his hopes up, but... we couldn't just avoid it forever. And maybe, maybe there was a chance...”

Senna sat beside her, placing a hand over hers. “You did everything you could. The world never seems to have what's best for our kids in mind, does it? That's why we're there for them.”

She did not want to cry. Not here, not in front of Senna. She'd been so welcoming during their stay, and being the Avatar's mother was no easy task, either. Still, speaking was difficult. “I don't even know if I should be leaving him be or holding him tight right now. He says he wants to be alone, but... he's hurting. I'm afraid...”

The other woman took a heavy breath. “I have some of the palace guards casually posted nearby. I remember, some of Korra's darker moments, when she was hurt, I was afraid she might...” She shuddered. “Thank goodness it never came to that. The one thing, the one thing I've always wished I could do was take her pain away. But all we can do is watch, and hurt along with them.”

Caluqtiq tried to speak, but her throat caught. She brought a hand up to her mouth, shivering. She should be stronger than this. Nuktik needed her to be.

“Go ahead,” Senna murmured. “Go ahead. You can't help him if you lose yourself. This is okay, right now. None of that Northern stoicism here, I told my husband when we got married I wouldn't allow it.”

A laugh escaped her, followed by a few rough sobs. Not nearly as many as she'd expected, but still, it took her beyond caring about how she looked, about who saw.

Some minutes later, as she collected herself over her now-lukewarm tea, she heard shuffling behind them. “Mom?”

She smoothed out her face and turned to her son. “Hey, Nuktik. How are you doing?”

The answer was plainly written across his face. “I'd like to go home.”

“It's... it is getting late. In the morning?”

Nuktik nodded, trudging back the way he'd come.

“I'll make the arrangements for you,” Senna said. “The weather is still good, you should make good time to the portal.”

“Thank you,” Caluqtiq sighed.

“Think nothing of it. You're welcome to visit any time you want, and I would love to keep in touch with you. Us moms with brave kids have to stick together, right?”

“Right,” she agreed, as Senna patted her hand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asami and Korra have plotlines besides misery. Don't worry. 
> 
> Nuktik has a plotline besides misery. Don't worry. 
> 
> Kuvira... actually kinda wants to be miserable. That's weird.
> 
> Ikki's little sideplot should keep things a bit more cheerful for you guys, though! And Wing is fine! 
> 
> (Please don't hate me. I know where this is all going and it is wonderful.)


	25. Family

_Korra_

 

_You know what? I get it._

_You're mad with me. Fine. I can deal with mad._

_I'm honestly not particularly happy with you right now, either._

_All of my factories in the Fire Nation. Not just the ones that produced rifles. All of them. You didn't even destroy all of Pinnacle's holdings! You cannot possibly think it's fair to punish me worse than Rotien Hong!_

_I don't know if you're even getting these. I don't know if you're moving too fast, if you just don't take them, or if you burn them unread._

_You're being very small._

_Have you thought about how I feel about this? Zuko and hundreds of others dead, thanks to my invention? And for what, a competitor's profits? You have to know that's never what I wanted. And yet you blame me for it?_

_Why are you running from me, Korra? What do you think I'm going to do? Scream at you? At this point, I'd say you deserve it. Go ahead and scream back. At least then we'd be talking._

_What are you afraid of? You think I'm going to break up with you?_

_Or has that ship sailed?_

_Don't I at least deserve to know?_

 

 

_***_

 

 

Suyin Beifong was losing her mind.

A lot had happened in the last few years. Ever since Korra had first come to Zaofu looking for airbenders, with Lin in tow, she found herself more and more embroiled in titanic events and world affairs.

Honestly, she was fine with that. She had the talent and the resources, why shouldn't it be her?

But planning her only daughter's wedding? In a week?

It was insanity.

Only one of Zaofu's domes was completely rebuilt, but that would do for the venue. The plan was to partially close the dome, to provide some level of security for her the numerous important people around, but still let in the sun and breeze. Hanging the streamers and lights were being between the petals was behind schedule, the pyrotechnics display they were trying to set up had detonated early and nearly convinced Nyota they were under attack, hotels had filled with uninvited dignitaries and the press faster than she could reserve rooms for actual guests, and Opal's dress _still_ wasn't right!

But the problem that she kept circling back to, the tiny detail that could make or break the entire endeavor: seating.

Specifically, where to seat Korra and Asami.

Beside each other? As if they were still together? That would be obvious.

Far apart? That would negate the point of all of this, and if her daughter was willing to put up with a slapdash wedding for the sake of trying to get her friends back together, then Suyin Beifong was going to do her damnedest to see that happen.

Her low-key research into wedding traditions had helped a little—Zaofu took pride in flaunting old traditions, and Republic City represented a little of everything, so expectations were wide open. Should she hit on the modern 'bridesmaid' idea? That would put Asami and Korra in close proximity...

The telephone rang.

Suyin glared at it, pulled out of her thoughts, realizing she was leaning so heavily on one hand that her fingers were scrunched up into her hair. She straightened, picking up the receiver. “Suyin.”

“Ah, Su,” Raiko said, with more familiarity in his voice than she appreciated. “I understand congratulations are in order?”

Spirits. He didn't think he was invited, did he? “Are you referring to my daughter's wedding?”

“Your husband mentioned it, and it seems most of my negotiating partners will be absent from our deliberations for a week.”

“I assure you, it is not intended as a personal sleight.” You ass. “It is merely coincidence that so many world leaders are close personal friends of the bride and groom.”

“Of course, of course. And I wouldn't dream of intruding on such an important, family affair. However, that is the reason I called. I thought, perhaps, there was a gesture of goodwill that Republic City could make on this occasion, to cement our good relations.”

Su narrowed her eyes. “What do you have in mind? The return of all our platinum, perhaps?”

“Ah, no. I was more considering paroling your son to attend the wedding. If, of course, you and your daughter would like him there.”

She sat back in her chair, mouth hanging. “I... I don't know what to say.” Or what price might come attached to it. “What would be the terms of his parole?”

“Well, he would have to remain under guard—conveniently, our chief of police is also attending the wedding, which should ease that. You'd be responsible for the cost of housing and transport of him and his guards, and within a reasonable amount of time after the ceremony, he must be on his way back to us to serve out his sentence.”

She nodded, her eyes closed. She hadn't seen her Bataar Jr. since the trial. “Does... does he want to come?”

“Very much so, from what I'm told.”

Deep breath. “Let me discuss it with Opal, think it over.”

“Of course.”

“And... there's no strings on this. No price you're trying to exact?”

Raiko sighed. “I appreciate your candor, Suyin, as always. But no. I recognize the importance of our good relations, and I thought this might cement them. With the rest of the continent in such turmoil, strengthening our ties only seems natural.”

It wasn't the complete truth, she was sure—perhaps he had a full defensive pact in mind. But it felt honest enough. “Thank you, Mr. President. I will be in contact with you again by the end of the day.”

“I'll await your call. Good day, Matriarch.”

“Mr. President.” She hung up the phone, but stayed leaned back in her chair. Perhaps Korra and Asami wouldn't be the only drama at the wedding.

 

 

***

 

 

Izumi looked up from the reports she had been... it would be generous to say she'd been reading them, even before she dozed off. Outside of her schedule, too. She scarcely seemed able to keep to it, any longer.

Something tapped at her window. That had been what woke her. She turned, then gave a start.

There was a girl crouched on the windowsill, rapping her knuckle against the glass. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze. “Mind letting me in? There isn't much ledge out here.”

Izumi frowned, setting her papers aside and rising. This was highly irregular, but she could not well leave a child on a windowsill. Even if she was clearly an airbender who'd gotten there herself. One of Tenzin's children, surely—unless some children had become airbenders three years ago, too?

The girl tumbled into the room once the Fire Lord had opened the window, rolling onto her feet. “Thanks! You might not remember me, but I'm Ikki.”

Ah, Tenzin's second child. “We have met, yes. What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you!”

“Talk to me?”

“Uh-huh! Or maybe give you lots of hugs.”

“Hugs.”

“Good choice!” Ikki said, springing into her, then wrapping her arms around Izumi's midsection.

Izumi tensed. The child surely meant well, but... the touch was uncomfortable. “That was a question, not a request. Please stop.”

“Oh, okay.” Ikki stepped back, hands swinging behind her. “The point is, though, I want to help. My dad says you are very sad and you _do_ look awfully tired, and I know it's bad what happened to your father, but that wasn't your fault.”

Izumi straightened her papers. Ikki certainly was an... energetic creature. How Tenzin and Pema survived having four of them, she would never know. “Far be it from me to question your knowledge of the situation, but I know what I am responsible for.”

Ikki tilted her hips, crossing her arms. “Well... even if you do feel like it's your fault, it's not like you meant to. I can't imagine how I'd feel if Daddy got hurt because of something I did, but he wouldn't want me to feel bad about it. I know me and Jinora and Meelo don't get along sometimes, though everyone gets along with Rohan 'cuz he's still mostly a baby, but even though we get mad and maybe don't want to be around each other all the time, we're still family, and—”

“Would you like me to summon a guard to show you the way out, or—”

Ikki took a step back at the look Izumi gave her. Perhaps it was more severe than she'd intended, but this child had no right to intrude on her like this!

The child thought a long moment, then knelt on the carpet. “Fire Lord Izumi, as a friend of the Air Nation and an important world person, I offer my personal assistance, and that of the Air Nation.”

What was this? “Assistance in what? What is Tenzin's game?”

“Daddy doesn't know I'm here. We came to visit you earlier, because he's worried about you.”

“Tenzin would fuss over every beggar on the street, if he had the time for it.”

“Is that wrong?”

Izumi opened her mouth. “No. But while he succors one beggar, a more efficient leader tries to find why that beggar has nowhere to live, or work.”

“Maybe she's been out on the street a long time, and doesn't think anybody wants her, so she's drinking wine all day and nobody wants her living there?”

The things Tenzin exposed his children to. “Then we should still find out why she's on the street to begin with.”

“Like I said, because she's drinking or doing those... those lotus flowery thingies, so nobody wants her.”

“Well why is she doing that?”

“Maybe she made a few mistakes. Maybe she was sad and there was nobody there to help her, or she didn't want to hurt anyone else, and she ran away, and things just kept getting worse.”

“You're attempting a metaphor.”

“No, I just thought maybe comparing—oh yeah that's what you mean.”

Izumi took a deep breath. “Child, I appreciate what you are trying to do here. But my problems will not be solved by a twelve year old, however well meaning she might be.”

“Maybe you just don't _want_ your problems to be solved. It's easier to feel like it's hopeless than to do the scary thing and go to someone you love and tell them that maybe... maybe you want to start over. I know Lin had big problems with her sister and her mom, maybe you should talk to them!”

“I'm not talking to anyone.”

“Why not?”

“Because they can't help me.”

“How do you know?”

“Because a head of state should be stronger than that.”

“That's... that's just silly! Everybody needs help sometimes! You're a smart and important person, but you're human, aren't you?”

“My people need me to be better than human.”

“They need you to be your best self! My dad told me a story after Harmonic Convergence, about how he spent his whole life trying to be like Grampa Aang, and he never could do it. But he took a trip to the Spirit World, and something happened in there that I didn't quite understand but he realized that he _wasn't_ Avatar Aang, he was himself. And he's been a lot happier since then! More sure of himself, more centered. He's done a better job as a world leader!”

The girl's thinking was simple, but... there was a certain truth to it. “I... suppose a wise leader avails herself of whatever resources are available.”

“That's great!” Ikki said. “I'll go tell my parents to prepare an extra seat at dinner.”

“Dinner? Wait—”

“Nobody would think it weird, since you're both world leaders and you've known each other your whole lives!”

“Yes, but—”

“Besides, we're all leaving for Zaofu in the morning, so it _has_ to be tonight. You'll be there, right? A good leader keeps their word.”

“I'm fairly certain I never gave my—”

“Great! You won't regret it, Fire Lord! I'll see you there. And I'll tell mom to make the food extra spicy for you!” With that, she scampered back to the window, leapt out, and spread her arms, gliding away.

Izumi blinked. Had she just been outmaneuvered by a child? Perhaps she did need help. Iroh had never been so willful.

Or... perhaps he had, and she'd never noticed.

Izumi sighed.

 

***

 

 

Lin straightened her uniform in the mirror, then sighed, and straightened it again.

“You look fine, Linny-loo,” Kya said, leaning on her desk behind her.

She scowled at her. “ _No_ , Kya.” They both knew she wasn't referring to her opinion on Lin's appearance. She'd been trying out dozens of different nicknames for the last few days—the ideas that got into the woman's head sometimes. The more Lin protested, the more she kept trying, too!

“You aren't usually this fidgety before talking to the press,” Kya observed, stepping from the desk in a very distracting, flowing way.

“I don't usually actually want to talk to them. A lot's on the line with this, Kya.”

“I know.” She walked behind Lin, her fingers moving to the back of Lin's neck, massaging their way up into her hair. No bending, but Lin felt tension drain out of her all the same. “You'll do great.”

Lin moaned noncommittally. Spirits, Kya knew how to use her fingers.

“Ah, Linny Linna Linda-la.”

“mmmnnno, kya...”

“What, stop massaging, Grumpykins Lins?”

That was the _last_ thing she wanted. She let that one lie, damn the consequences.

Kya chuckled. “Man, I better not let the bad guys know how easy you are to subdue.”

A knock came at the door. Lin just about jumped straight out of her armor. “Chief! They're ready for you!”

Kya had her hand against her chest, laughing. “Maybe I got you too relaxed, L—”

“Kya,” Lin warned.

“—Lovely Lady Lininny.”

Lin groaned. “You're a child.”

“I should hope not! That would make you a corrupter of the youth.”

“Oh, you were corrupt _well_ before you fell in with me.”

“Well,” Kya pressed against Lin's back, reaching her arms around to weave their fingers together. “Either way, I'm happy to be where I am.”

She wasn't asking a question, but to Lin, it felt like one. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to say anything?

“You'd better get going,” Kya said, pushing her toward the door and patting her on the backside hard enough to feel through her armor. “You've got this, Lin.”

Lin froze in her tracks. After days of pet names, hearing just her name was almost upsetting. She shook it off. “Thanks. See you after?”

Kya chuckled. “Of course. Go.”

She walked out of her office, moving quickly to the briefing room that a few select members of the press were in. It was small enough she didn't need a microphone, but she'd have to deal with cameras, still. Vulture-wasps, the lot of them. How many pictures of her talking did they need?

They didn't wait for her to reach the podium to take pictures, so she didn't wait to start talking. “For the past several months, under the orders of the President, the RCPD has been training a special crack unit in the use of the new rifles. Given our experience with them, their potential for lethality and for collateral damage, I protested, but was overridden. However, given the severity of some of the threats Republic City has faced in the past, and of those it may face in the future, I have come to see the wisdom of at least having the option available as a last resort, as well as offering a career path equally open to benders and non-benders alike.”

The reporters were scribbling mercilessly. She was already feeling more verbose than she wanted to be, but she'd practiced the simple speech for hours the night before, with Kya's surprisingly-undistracting help. But she still wanted to shove the information down their throats and let them digest it themselves. None of Raiko's mealy-mouthed nonsense. “However, now the President wishes to change their mission, and have them reassigned as his own personal security staff. I don't begrudge his protection, but a separate police force answering only to our country's leader, and trained primarily in lethal force, is not a precedent we should set, and I'll have no part in it. The old Dai Li and Councilman Tarrlok's task force are both prime examples of how that can go wrong. I tried to protest through official means, but President Raiko could not be persuaded.

“I intend to continue in my duty as our Chief of Police, but I serve at the pleasure of the President. If he insists on having his plan implemented, he is on notice now that I will not do it. Thank you.”

About half the reporters were still scrawling in their little notebooks as she turned and strode from the podium. The few that were most on top of their game—or had the most experience with Lin—shouted questions, though those who knew her best didn't bother.

She found her way back to her office, shut the door, and slumped against it. “I hate giving speeches.”

“How'd it go?”

She shrugged. “Fine, I guess. We'll see what the papers say tomorrow. Either way, I'm deep in it now.”

“Well, you're not in it alone. And people will take your side, you'll see, Linner the Winner.”

Lin groaned. “You've been saving that one.”

“I have,” Kya said, touching their noses together.

“Well, I hope it's at least accurate, Kya...la...la...girl.”

Kya pulled back, her head tilted. “Kya-lala-girl?”

“No. Nevermind.”

“The best you could come up with was—”

“Just forget it!”

Kya laughed hard enough to lean against her, but her arms locked around Lin's neck, preventing her retreat. “Don't be embarrassed. I'm happy to be your Lalagirl.”

“I'm not embarrassed.”

“You're blushing.”

“I'm... angry.”

Kya crinkled her nose, touching it to Lin's again. “You're adorable when you're angry.”

“Ugh. You're going to be the end of me.”

“It's not the end I'm interested in,” Kya said, inching closer. “It's the getting there that's fun.”

She kissed her, and Lin closed her eyes, relaxing into it.

Kya chuckled as they parted, muttering, “Lalagirl,” under her breath.

Lin kissed her back—if she could take her breath away, she wouldn't have to hear any more of that!

Happily for both of them, that plan worked. 'Linner the Winner' indeed.

 

 

***

 

 

Korra threw the two captured bandits at the first Zaofu guards she found, then airbent herself to a ridge near the top of one of the half-raised petals of the repaired dome. She caught a glimpse of the apparition, watching her smugly, as if it had known what she would do.

Which, of course, it had. Because it wasn't real.

At least, this apparition didn't have her powers. It couldn't fly up after her, or use bending against her, like the dark version of herself could. She cold run away from it, like she could...

...like she was running away from Asami.

Her scraped arm was starting to scab over. If she didn’t heal it soon, it would probably scar. She didn’t care. Probably she should go back to her room, try to sleep. That wouldn’t work either--she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since leaving Republic City.  

What was she supposed to do? What _could_ she do? Would this dark _thing_ leave her alone if she saw the real Asami again? Apologized to her? Punished her? What did it want? What did _Korra_ need?

She hugged her gut, barely able to keep her balance. Why was she torturing herself like this? She'd been so desperate before, she'd even gone to _Zaheer._ She knew she'd never be how she was before, but she thought she'd gotten over it. She'd been better. What had changed?

Asami?

Korra trembled, but shook her head. No. No, seeing Asami again had been... had been wonderful, after all those years, and all her feelings and confusion had boiled to the surface, but it hadn't been Asami who reconnected her with Raava. She'd found that strength in herself. It had taken years, and help...

...lots of help...

Perhaps Asami had contributed, by just... being there. Giving her hope, a possibility. Something she could dream about.

Could she still?

A saffron blur came with a gust of wind. Opal landed beside her. “Hey, Korra.”

“Oh,” Korra said, wiping her eyes. Useless to pretend she hadn't been crying. “Hi.”

“You look like you’ve been dragged through a ditch.”

She may well have made a ditch when she hit the ground. Korra turned her head away, saying nothing.

Opal sighed, looking out at the mountains around her home town, resting her arms across her knees. “Pretty afternoon.”

Korra nodded. She knew Opal was going to try to comfort her, and she wasn't sure she could handle it. She wasn't sure she deserved comfort, but—

“You're being an ass, Korra.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You haven't even _called_ her!”

“I... what am I supposed to say? 'Hi, Asami, so I guess you're inventing murder gadgets now! How’s that working out?'?”

“Oh, I don't know, Korra! Maybe, 'I'm alive. We need to talk about why I leveled half your company!'?”

“Yeah, that _sorta_ leads back to the same problem. Since when are you so combative?”

“Since when are you so cruel?”

“I... cruel?”

Opal paused, but her eyes kept their heat. “Asami is going to be here in a few days. Do you even know what you've been putting her through? I mean, aside from attacking her company to punish her?”

Korra put her head back, covering her eyes with the crook of her arm. “Put _her_ through? Do you know how many _bodies_ I saw in Kuodan? Zuko's blood was on my _boots_ when I left!”

“And that's Asami's fault?”

“Y... I don't know!”

“You sure seem to be blaming her.”

“Have you seen what those things can do, Opal?”

“Yes! I saw them save my city!” Opal gestured out at Zaofu beneath them. “Korra, I get that what happened in Kuodan was awful, but you can't blame Asami for that. And heck, even if you do, talk to her about it, don't avoid her and blow up her stuff!”

Korra shrank into herself as the words hit home.

Opal sighed. “You're my friend, Korra, but so is she. And don't imagine I won't have some choice words for her too! But when I see somebody hurting a friend of mine... I _am_ Toph's granddaughter. Besides, you hate being coddled, and everyone else is on pins and needles about you and Asami. Mom tried to bring it up politely, you ignore her. I figured, maybe a different tactic might work.”

“Well... you're surprisingly effective at it.”

“Uh huh. You aren't going to make a scene at my wedding, are you?”

“What? No, of course not! It's not like I hate her or never want to see her again or...” her voice caught.

Never see her again? She'd avoided her for months, but _never see her again_?

Korra started feeling dizzy. She closed her eyes, steadying her breathing.

“Korra—”

“Give me a minute,” she said, breathing through it. In... and out. In... and out.

Opal was frowning at her when she opened her eyes. “You okay?”

How could she not laugh? How could it not be bitter? “No. No I don't think I am.”

The other woman scooted closer. “It's not like I _liked_ yelling at you...”

“It's not because you yelled at me.”

“Oh. Because I wasn't done, either.”

Korra snorted.

“Look... I can't pretend to understand everything you've been through. I'm not sure anybody can. But the one person who is most desperate to, who has the most experience doing it...”

“I know,” Korra said. “But those rifles—”

“You aren't _dating_ rifles, Korra!”

It's not like I'm dating Asami right now, either. “She made them. And she didn’t tell me. She _decided_ not to tell me.”

“You're the one that stayed away. You could come back.”

“After I leveled her factories?”

“Talk to her.”

“After I—”

“ _Talk_ to her. Whatever happens.” Opal sighed. “It's not just her you're torturing, you know. All the rest of us... we're really rooting for the both of you. Nobody likes seeing either of you suffer like this, much less be doing it to each other. And it's clearly not doing you any favors.”

She couldn't argue with that.

Opal put her hand on Korra's shoulder. “Come down, have a bite to eat. Spend a few days relaxing. Maybe visit mom's acupuncturist. Whatever you're afraid is going to happen when Asami gets here... get ready for it, I guess. Because after _this_ conversation, imagine how the whole Beifong clan will treat you if you screw up my wedding?”

Korra chuckled.

Opal's fingers tightened. “Seriously. _Do not ruin my wedding_. Remember how Eska got? Well multiply that by a hundred. And she'll even help me.”

Korra gulped. “Okay, Opal, since when are you terrifying?”

Opal leaned back, smiling. “Mom says all women get like this right before their wedding. Though maybe it's just Beifongs. Come to think of it, maybe that's part of why grandma Toph never got hitched... I'll have to ask her.”

“She's coming too?”

“You think she'd miss it?” Opal chuckled, kicking her legs. “You better straighten up before she gets here, too. Being harsh doesn't come naturally to me.”

Korra stared straight ahead, imagining what Toph would say about all this. Probably something along the lines of, “Cut the crap and make up already.”

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

But Korra looked down, and saw the dark figure with the rifle across her back.

Waiting.

 

 

***

 

 

Shu shadowed Torru as he moved through the street with his throng of supporters. Half a dozen RLF enforcers in deliberately-drab clothes shadowed him. It was a game they played, maintaining mutual awareness but pretending not to. They'd form a tight bunch in his way if he tried to get too close, he'd sharpen his fingernails on his belt knife if they did... all very cordial.

The distance he seemed to be allowed was just within earshot, but too far to shout back arguments. As if Shu would have tried to debate him—Shu was an agreeable man. Never any need for shouting. If somebody needed a punch in the gut, well that was different, but when they were surrounded by hundreds of their friends, it turned out there was a lot of craziness Shu could put up with hearing.

Torru walked the streets of Ba Sing Se—the old Lower Ring, mostly—on an almost daily basis. His pace was glacial, hobbled as he was, and even more so with all the spirits scampering around underfoot these days and making a nuisance of themselves—but the distance covered was tremendous. The only breaks he took were to sit, which always wound up in an 'impromptu' discussion with somebody he'd come across—loud enough for the people in the back.

Whatever he had against Torru—and it was a lot—Shu had to admit, he was quite the showman. It took a fine actor to make it seem like he wasn't acting at all.

Shu listened, but not just to Torru. He listened to the people around him, to what they thought they heard. What they were muttering as they fell away from the group. Talk of rising food prices, grumblings about how many spirits were hanging about, complaints of refugees from the countryside taking rice and jobs in the city, speculation about a rift between the Imperial party and the Confederationists turning violent—

That one was new. Was that how he was spinning the attack on Wing? Was the goal to actually push the two sides further apart, or to make Torru's faction look reasonable by comparison?

Torru was chatting with a cobbler, not projecting as well as usual—there was a lot of cloth hanging in the alley, which broke up the sound. Shu was tempted to call out and let him know—it only seemed the polite thing to do. Plus, performers hated when the performance itself was pointed out. Instead, he moved a little closer, and the five RLF goons formed ranks in front of him.

Five.

There were normally six. There _had_ been six.

Interesting.

Shu fell back, wondering where he'd last seen the other man. It was probably nothing, but they had to examine every lead. Though with most of Mako's little team leaving town for a few days, they probably wouldn't get a chance to act on it...

He went to a food stall, hands examining the various vegetables while he scanned the street and played back where the crowd had passed. Where might...

He noticed a shadow between two buildings, the sort of thin alley that springs up from poor planning and becomes refuge to all sorts of things that dislike the light. It was just a hunch, just an inkling... but a small chance of a big find was worth more than hearing the snippets of propaganda Torru was putting out. He purchased a pear, and began sauntering away, angling toward the alley.

Sure enough, murmurings came behind a wood pile. He couldn't hear without getting close enough to see, so he walked past, stepping into the building instead.

Several shocked seamstresses looked up. “Sir,” one of them said, “if you're looking for—”

“Just looking for the back door,” he said, winking at her and weaving his way through. “Keep up the good work. Here, have a pear.”

The building let out at the far end of the alley, into a narrow street that was almost an alley in its own right. Either he was wasting his time, or whoever the RLF guy was talking to would be coming this way after their deal. He found a spot nearby where he could examine some surprisingly high-quality belts, as well as watch whoever came out.

It wasn't long before a man stepped into view, wearing a long cloak in spite of the heat. Shu fell quietly behind, noting his height and hair and fully expecting the cloak to vanish once the man turned a corner.

Which was precisely what happened. Shu had definitely stumbled into something illicit, and he was _assuming_ Torru was involved, but all he could do for the moment was follow along.

 

 

***

 

Pema took a moment, straightening her hair and her robes after hours of organizing the kitchen. Ikki's pronouncement that the Fire Lord would be visiting for dinner—confirmed over the telephone, even—came shortly after Tenzin had told her in a rather odd way that Kya would be joining them too, for Ikki's sake.

She was quite certain it wasn't Ikki's birthday, so what was with the focus on her all of a sudden!?

Deep breath. Kya visited all the time and she'd met Izumi repeatedly. This wasn't to be a state dinner—though she'd gotten some of the Fire Nation born acolytes to help spice up tonight's food—but she always felt Izumi's critical eye, and wanted to show the Fire Lord how cordial and welcoming the Air Nation first family could be.

An acolyte rushed up to her. “Fire Lord Izumi is here!” she whispered.

Pema nodded, smirking to herself. She'd actually unleashed Meelo on the ferryman to delay his leaving the island by a couple of minutes—and tire Meelo out a little—just to see if Izumi would somehow manage to arrive precisely on time in spite of it. Which she had. She'd have to ask the ferryman how she'd managed that.

“I'm on my way,” Pema said.

Izumi was standing precisely centered in the entry hall, with two guards on either side of her. “Pema,” she greeted. “Your daughter was kind enough to invite me to dinner, though her manner of invitation was somewhat lacking in propriety.”

It was easier to keep her smile steady than to fake one out of nowhere—so she'd be smiling all evening. “Well, you know the Air Nation has always been pretty free-spirited. It's an ancient part of our culture.”

Izumi quirked an eyebrow. “Then, as Fire Lord, I feel particularly obligated to respect it.”

Pema's smile wavered. Neither she nor Tenzin remotely blamed Izumi for the airbender genocide, but Izumi clearly carried responsibility for it as a matter of course.

“I'm afraid I don't have seating for your guards, but I did have food prepared for them! If they'd like to join the White Lotus—”

“We cannot leave Her Majesty's side,” one of the guards interrupted.

“Chh,” Izumi chided, but apparently only for speaking out of turn, because she did nothing to contradict him.

Pema got her smile back in line. “The Air Nation doesn't really do the weapons around the dinner table thing, either. You can stand outside the door if you must.”

Izumi gave them a nod, and they marched out.

“Excellent! This way, if you please...”

Pema led her guest to the dining room, placing her at the end of the table opposite Tenzin and herself. Rohan and Meelo would be closest to their parents, Jinora next to Izumi—they should get on well—while Ikki was already seated between Izumi's chair and the one saved for Kya.

Jinora and Tenzin came into the room shortly after. Both of them noticed their guest and gave a half-bow. “A pleasure as always,” Tenzin said, coming as close to a lie as Pema had ever heard from him.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Izumi said, taking the proffered seat. Ikki had her elbows on the table, holding up her chin as she smiled up at Izumi's face.

“I'm glad you came!” Ikki said. “It's always fun when we have guests for dinner. Also, you're pretty, does anybody ever tell you that?”

“Um... no. They do not.”

“Well, they should!”

“Let's get everyone else in here,” Pema interjected. Ikki may have arranged this, but maybe seating her beside Izumi wasn't the best idea. She turned to the hallway where everyone's bedrooms were. “ _MEELO! ROHAN! DINNER!_ ”

Izumi had an eyebrow quirked as she turned back to the table. “Too informal for you?” Pema asked.

“Not at all. It is your home. I am merely... impressed by your volume.”

The boys' feet pattered along the hallway as they rushed in. Meelo's finely-combed hair was already mussed, but she'd made a valiant attempt. She hurried her sons to their seats as Jinora made small talk with the Fire Lord, and Ikki stared at her in the oddest way. Hopefully Izumi wouldn't mind—or at least, not comment.

Finally, she sat, and several acolytes began bringing in dishes. Rice, fried squash, lentil soup—most other nations expected meat at a meal, but she'd found that the best replacement she could make within Air Nation cuisine was to simply bury them in choices.

Meelo was already digging in as soon as the first dish was set near him. “Should we not wait for everyone?” Izumi asked, nodding at the empty chair.

“That is for my sister,” Tenzin sighed.

“Ah,” Izumi said, and began serving herself. At least she'd met Kya, no need to explain her loose relationship with punctuality.

“Can I try on your glasses?” Ikki asked.

“I... need them to see my soup,” Izumi said, frowning at her.

“You know how glasses work, Ikki.”

Rohan turned to Jinora. “'nora, how do they work?”

Jinora set her chopsticks down. “Well, Rohan, when light passes through a medium, it is refracted—”

“Maybe... dial the complexity down just a little, honey,” Pema said, holding her thumb and forefinger together. “He's four.”

“Sorry I'm late,” Kya said, striding in and straightening her hair. “Something weird going on with the ferry. I think they're experimenting with jets or something.”

Pema choked, swallowing her food hard. Well that answered that.

“We have a guest, Kya,” Tenzin said, motioning across the table.

“Oh. Hey, 'zumi.”

Izumi sighed. “Kya.”

The waterbender turned toward her brother. “So, what'd you want me at dinner for? Something about Mom and Dad?”

Tenzin wiped the soup from his beard with a napkin. “Perhaps tonight wouldn't be the best night. I did not realize at the time that Ikki had invited a guest of her own.”

“Ah.” She turned to her niece. “First time inviting a girl over, eh? Don't you think she's a little old for you?”

Ikki blushed furiously. “I just thought she was lonely is all!”

“Kya!” Pema scolded.

“But why are her eyes broken?” Rohan asked.

Kya spoke through a mouthful of rice. “Hey, Tenzin, you remember the first time I brought a girlfriend home?”

Tenzin chuckled. “She thought Mother was mad about it, but it was just because she tracked mud in.”

Why were they talking about this? Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly dinner for Izumi?

Kya was laughing. “Well, she couldn't help it! Both of us were covered in the stuff! That's what happens when an earthbender and a waterbender get together though, eh?”

“You had a mud fight?!” Meelo asked.

“Yes, that is exactly what happened,” Tenzin answered hurriedly.

Kya pounded the table. Behind her, Ikki and Izumi were both aghast.

“Maybe—” Pema began.

“At least, that's what wound up happening,” Kya interrupted, smirking into her tea. “Who new Dad was such a good mudbender?”

“Avatar Aang...” Izumi asked, “got into a mud fight with you and your girlfriend?”

“The whole family joined in eventually. Even Mom, if you believe it—it took her a while to catch the mood but then she was absolutely relentless. She actually flipped Biyu right the heck over! They really seemed to like her.”

“They liked that she made you happy,” Tenzin said. “What ever happened to Biyu, anyway?”

“Oh, you know how these things are,” Kya sighed, subconsciously fingering her necklace. “People grow apart. Or sometimes, they don't grow together as fast as one of them likes. Mom and Dad were there for me then, too.”

“As any parent should be,” Tenzin said.

“What would you have done?” Kya asked, plucking a bit of squash into her mouth and leaning back, so a wide-eyed Ikki could see him and Pema both.

Everything clicked. _This_ was Tenzin's way of making Ikki feel comfortable?!

“Well... I don't think a mud fight would have been my style. But if I were in Father's position... I would have talked to her, I think.” He clasped his hands together. “Asked her what my daughter—or son—means to her, how they met, what her plans are. Anybody that one of my children cares that much about, I would want to get to know well.”

“That's not how you treated Kai,” Jinora said, picking at her rice.

“I... that was different. He was _literally_ a thief.”

Pema put her hand on Tenzin's elbow. “We're not talking about that again, are we? You know we adore Kai, Jinora. He's grown a lot. You've been a good influence on him.”

“Yup,” Kya said, swallowing loudly. “And honestly, you're such a little spoilsport, falling for a rebel makes sense for you. Ikki and Meelo here? I'm betting your parents hope you find somebody to settle you down.”

“Well, not too soon,” Pema chuckled, watching Ikki surreptitiously. “Not that we wouldn't want to meet anybody that means so much to you, but there's plenty of time.”

“Though, considering Gira and Tulqlik...” Tenzin mused, stroking his beard.

“Hmm?” Pema turned toward him. “What about them?”

“Well, separate dormitories were originally set up so that acolytes would not, um, _distract_ each other.”

“Tell me about it,” Jinora muttered.

“That always has struck me as odd,” Izumi said. “For a culture that prides itself on freedom and choice, one would think exploration of relationships would be encouraged. Especially for a culture still trying to rebuild its population.”

Pema laughed into her hand, glancing at her husband's flushing face. “You may have a point. And Tulqlik and Gira have been excellent students in spite of their relationship.”

“That's beside the point!” Tenzin sputtered. “Most acolytes begin training as children, and totally unsupervised romantic relationships are not appropriate until they reach their majority. If Kai had been a girl, I would not have treated their relationship any differently.”

“Really?” Jinora asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Really?” Ikki asked, her voice quavering.

Tenzin calmed himself. “Really.”

“Trust me, girls,” Kya said, pointing between herself and Tenzin with her chopsticks. “Our parents were way happy with the fact I was dating at all, compared to my eternally sexless brothers. At least, until they made peace with Bumi not caring and you hooked up with Lin. Sorry, Pema.”

Pema shrugged. “That was a long time ago.” And certainly not something she wanted to talk about in front of the kids. Or Izumi, for that matter. Even if Pema _had_ won.

“Point is, we're all one big, ridiculous mess of a family, but we've got each others' backs and want each other to be happy.” She took a big bite of rice, then set her chopsticks down as she chewed and put her arm around Ikki. “Whoever that might be with.”

Ikki stood, wrapping her arms around Kya. “I... thank you for telling me that,” she said, pulling one arm back to wipe her eyes.

Pema rose too, and helped Tenzin get to his feet. Before long, the entire family had wrapped Ikki in their arms, though Meelo didn't want to feel left out and Rohan thought it was all a big game. But Ikki was smiling through the tears, and that was the important thing.

Izumi set her utensils down, and rose. “I... feel as if I have intruded on something.”

“Nah, we barely noticed you were here, 'zumi,” Kya said with a wink.

The Fire Lord ignored it. “I... believe it is around mid-day in the Fire Nation. Would you mind terribly if I used your radio, Tenzin? I wish to speak to my son. It... it is long past time I spoke to my son.”

Tenzin and Pema shared a glance. He held Ikki tighter. “Of course. Take all the time you need. It's through there, at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you,” Izumi said, giving the family a half-bow, then stepping away from the table. She paused at the doorway, turning her head back, just slightly. “Thank you,” she said again, quiet and true, before stepping away.

 

 

***

 

 

Desna knocked on Nuktik's door.

Nuktik did not answer. Which was to be expected, considering. Desna barely wished to get out of bed this morning, either. More so than usual.

“Nuktik,” Desna repeated. “You must ingest sustenance.”

Silence.

“There is a problem I would like you and your mother's help with. A spiritual matter. I have nobody else to turn to.”

Desna's eyes closed. She—she?—rested her forehead against his door. “You are my friend,” Desna said quietly, fingers curling against the wood.

Faint rustling came from inside. Desna stepped back enough for the door to move, and waited.

Nuktik opened the door, his robes thrown on quickly, his hair still a jumble. “What do you want, Desna? What can you possibly want of me?”

“There truly is a problem with the spirits.”

“Call the other spiritbenders.”

“I don't _trust_ the other spiritbenders. I...” Desna swallowed, holding out his— _her—_ hand. If Nuktik could be brave enough to be himself, so could she. If she could be brave enough, maybe Nuktik wouldn't feel so lost. “I want your help with this. I want to help you. And maybe...”

“What, Desna. Maybe what?”

“Maybe the spirits could do something that Katara could not.”

Nuktik looked away, then stepped into his room. His door creaked open a little, enough for Desna to sneak in and shut the door behind... her. Behind herself. Yes.

She stood up a little straighter. “The summer solstice is a week away. During the last solstice, nearly all of the damage Kuvira did to the Foggy Bottom Swamp repaired itself, and more spirits than ever took up residence. Entire swampbender tribes were displaced, and some were reported lost altogether. Nobody noticed, because nobody ever notices swamp people.”

“Maybe we should,” Nuktik said, crossing his arms. He hadn't bound his chest today. He must truly be feeling out of sorts, to be seen...

Desna took a breath. “You... yes. They may reside within the Earth territories, but they are waterbenders and have nobody to speak for them. But that is not the issue at hand. I fear, with a third portal open, that the veil between worlds will be even thinner with each solstice that passes. Spirits can come here freely now, but generally they are benign. My scouts within the spirit world say that it may not only be friendly spirits crossing over.”

Nuktik slouched on his bed. “The world is pretty messed up right now. Did anything else happen during the winter solstice?”

Desna looked Nuktik in the eye. “During the Winter solstice, you were in Kuodan. Several warlords in the Earth territories saw their forces attacked too, as well as hundreds of tiny incidents which are harder to track down. But even before Harmonic Convergence, spirits could make their displeasure with mortals known around the solstice.”

“Like Hei Bai, the Black and White Spirit that Avatar Aang encountered.”

How old would Nuktik need to be before Desna could name him an official adviser? The old men who helped run the Northern Tribe already chafed at Desna and Eska's youth, but Nuktik had more wisdom and combat experience than the lot of them. “Yes, exactly. Imagine what might happen if the fighting on the continent worsens? It was simple luck that the sack of Ba Sing Se occurred shortly after a solstice—what if something as bad were to happen now?”

“That... that would be a problem,” Nuktik said, looking in Desna's eyes. “But not for the Northern Water Tribe. And as you pointed out, there is no government to speak of in Ba Sing Se yet. You want to go out of your way to help them?”

“I... it would not benefit us to see further chaos perpetuated there.”

Nuktik made a sound that could have been a chuckle, though his face scarcely suggested one. “You don't need to justify doing the right thing. That's reason enough.”

Desna began to sneer, but stopped.

No. That was how Father had thought.

“Yes. Stopping it is the right thing to do. I can't just call up the Avatar and have her show up, and from what I understand, she is somewhat preoccupied. Perhaps she will be able to calm the humans down herself, but failing that, perhaps _we_ can calm down the spirits.”

Nuktik looked at the ground, his fingers curling into the blankets at either side of him. “Maybe. What about... what about the other thing. That maybe they can help... us.”

Desna found it hard to focus on anything either. “I... there are stories, of powers that spirits have. I read of Avatar Aang's travels, and the Mother of Faces. Perhaps...”

Nuktik bit his lip. “Maybe. I think... Those that went to her, wished to become new people. We wish to be ourselves, only... _ourselves_.”

“As far as I can tell, she has not returned to the material world since her encounter with Lord Z—”

Both of them winced.

“I... apologize. I was not thinking.”

“It... isn't like I never wish to hear his name. I regret that I couldn't do more but... I'm glad I knew him. And I never would've gotten the chance, if we hadn't gone to the Fire Nation to help.”

Desna looked up. Their eyes met.

“I'll come,” Nuktik said. “I'm sure Mom will too.”

Desna nodded. “Good.” She turned toward the door.

“Even if we don't find the Mother of Faces, this is the right thing to do. That's why we're going. I... I'm not ready for hope, again.”

Desna wasn't ready to lose it, but she merely gave Nuktik a nod, and left him to prepare.

 

 

***

 

 

Asami flipped through the manifest. More arms and supplies for Zaofu—no reason not to make the most use out of the trip—as well as nearly enough supplies to build a second airship while fending off an army.

One never knew what to expect, after all. And she was going to be ferrying around even more dignitaries than when they'd gone to find the airbenders, all that time ago.

They'd been so young, then. And Korra had been so cheerful, so bright, so beautiful. And always there, every time Asami turned, there she'd been.

She sighed. For better or worse, she'd see Korra again soon. The physical ache she felt without her in her life was palpable, like an absence she could turn to, and feel. As if she could turn, and see the space that Korra should be in. But of course, nobody was there.

When was anybody ever there for Asami Sato? And when they were, was it only so they could leave?

Asami shook herself, finishing off the list. This wasn't about her or Korra. This was Bolin and Opal's wedding, and she wasn't going to let her own problems interfere with being happy for them. She would get to Zaofu, and—assuming Korra actually was there—they would talk. They would say... they'd say whatever needed to be said.

Her throat was tight as she walked down the loading ramp. Tenni was waiting, reading documents of her own in the waning daylight.

“You've got the most experienced night crew in the fleet,” she said absently as Asami approached. “Assuming Tenzin and his family arrive soon, you should be docking in Zaofu by morning.”

She gave her assistant a nod. “Bolin is already aboard?”

Tenni's lips twitched into a near-smile. “Ah, not yet. His grandmother and various cousins are. They were quite punctual. Our, um, _special_ , political guest is aboard, as well.”

“Bataar Jr.?”

Tenni nodded. “And a half dozen guards, which seems like overkill. And his father.”

Asami crossed her arms, glancing back at the ship as if she could see through it. A father estranged from a young engineer, one of them imprisoned for crimes against his home... she shivered. “I hope they both find something to say.”

“I...” She paused as a car drove onto the tarmac. “Ah, I believe this is Bolin now.”

Asami stepped forward, squinting as the car pulled close. Zhu Li was driving, and the back seat was filled with two mostly-unconscious lumps.

“What happened?” Asami asked, arms crossed as Zhu Li stepped out of the car.

The other engineer sighed. “Varrick wanted to celebrate with Bolin, since he wasn't invited to the wedding. 'One last party with his pal Bolin!' I believe was his phrase. Mostly they just drank, considerably.”

“Zhu Li!” Varrick shouted, a hand pointing straight up into the air. “Stop the car.”

“We're almost there, dear,” she said, opening the door for Bolin and flopping his arm under her shoulder. She looked at Asami. “A little help? I might be able to lift Varrick easily, but Bolin weighs as much as that airship.”

Asami hurried over, and noticed a fire ferret limp on the seat. She lifted him up, blinking at him. “Did you get _Pabu_ drunk too?”

“Oh, hI ASami,” he said drowsily. “You know, you know, you know... you know...”

“Not yet,” Asami said, draping Pabu over Bolin's neck and positioning herself under his other arm. Zhu Li snickered as they moved up the ramp.

“You know, I think maybe we shhhhould go on a quick date. Nothing serioush, but it's just... everybody dated everybody else! It feels like maybe it would be shym...shymm...”

“Shameful?” Zhu Li suggested.

“Shymmetrical.”

“Now, Bolin,” Asami lectured, “if you want everything to be fully symmetrical, you would have to date your brother.”

“Asami!” he said, staring at her in spite of his neck not holding his head up. “Eew.”

She rolled her eyes. “That's what I thought.”

“Not that Mako isn't a perfectly attractive guy,” Bolin reflected.

“I think everyone might be happier if you stopped there,” Asami suggested. They'd reached the top of the ramp, and quickly deposited Bolin on a plush wall bench.

He immediately flopped on his side and started snoring. Pabu squeaked, scurrying woozily into Bolin's hair, then settling back down.

Both women looked down, shaking their heads.

“Well, thank you for bringing him in,” Asami said.

“No problem. This was the best way to keep Varrick from sneaking into the wedding anyway. I love the man, but believe me, I understand. And you can tell Opal that.”

Asami nodded. “I'll keep that in mind.”

“No, NO YOU SHOULDN'T—!” a shout came from outside, then a crash, and metal spinning on the ground.

They sprinted back out of the ship, already knowing who had happened but curious as to what he'd happened to. Sure enough, the car had collided with an idle forklift, not fifty feet from where they'd left it.

“Varrick!” Zhu Li scolded. “You know you're not allowed to drive.”

“But I did the thing all over the back seat, and I didn't want you to see.”

Asami rolled her eyes, and left the other woman to it.

More vehicles pulled up. Tenzin and his family, Eska, Kya and Lin—it looked like almost everyone they were waiting for.

Ikki separated from the family, rushing up to Asami and grabbing her hands. “Hey Asami!” she said. “I like girls too! I wanted you to know that!”

“Oh!” Asami blinked, then crouched down to give her a hug. “Well, I'm glad you figured that out, and I hope you find a good one.”

Ikki smiled. “You and Korra made me start realizing it. I... I really hope you get back together.”

Asami didn't look away, but she couldn't force a smile either. She gave Ikki a hug instead, unsure what to say.

Finally, Tonraq arrived, riding atop Naga. At least, she knew, Korra would be happy to see _her_.

Asami boarded the ship, and shut herself in her cabin. Bolin had several bad ideas, but drinking until she passed out certainly sounded like a good one.

She poured herself a glass of wine, then recorked the rest. Whatever happened tomorrow, she needed to be sober.

Outside the window, twilight faded into night. Asami raised her glass to the coming dawn, and began to drink.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ikki got a cute plotline randomly! Izumi's heart grew by three sizes that day...
> 
> Kyalin continues to be adorable! Hehe, Kya-lala-girl. 
> 
> Look how much everybody cares about each other! 
> 
> Well, except for Torru, he's a turd. 
> 
> More importantly though... everybody's moving...
> 
> Thanks as always (though I sometimes forget to mention it) to my alphas and betas, and to everyone who's keeping up with reading!


	26. And Then, She Was There

_Korra_

 

_If it's over, have the decency to tell me. Or have you decided to punish me, now? Destroying half my company wasn't enough?_

_You're better than this._

 

 

_***_

 

 

Mako trimmed his beard in the mirror of their tiny apartment near the palace, watching Tsu Ying pace behind his reflection. “I'm sure he's fine,” he said, because what else was one supposed to say? “We've both come in late from stakeouts and patrols before. He probably found something.”

“What, though?” Tsu Ying said, turning sharply, her braid sailing out and smacking the wall. Mako smirked. “Torru came back from his rounds yesterday evening, and nobody's seen as much as Shu's mustache since! I keep saying, we need to bring in more people, the city is way too big.” 

“We have informants.” 

“I don't mean informants, I mean _agents_. We're leaving the city for a few days for a wedding, and we _were_ going to leave Shu behind just so _somebody_ was watching over things. Not that he was happy about the idea... ” 

“Maybe he's just hiding from that?” Mako asked. “Besides, do _you_ know anybody else we can trust? This city has been corrupt and conquered and occupied; I doubt there's a person here who hasn't collaborated with somebody bad at least once.” 

“Maybe your standards are too high.” 

“Maybe I've seen what happens when corrupt or ineffectual people do policing.” He scrubbed the trimmed hairs from his face, and turned to her. “Have I ever told you about the time I got arrested?” 

“By the Earth Queen? Yeah.” 

“No, in Republic City. Come to think of it, I got arrested there twice.” 

Tsu Ying laughed, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. “No, you didn't tell me, but you're going to right the heck now. Is there any major city you've visited without being arrested, Detective?”

Mako smirked, crossing the room to her. “I managed to visit Harbor City without getting a record. But I was dating Korra at the time, so...”

“Ah. She pulled some strings, did she?” 

“Um... I think she was more concerned about her parents getting arrested, actually.”

She snorted, pulling him down for a quick kiss. “Maybe you're just a bad influence.” Her fingers traced through his beard as she withdrew.

There's a reason he kept it. He put his own hands on her wrists, looking into her eyes.

“You don't...” she started, chewing on the corner of her lip. “You don't feel like you've settled, with me, do you?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I—”

A knock came on their door. Then three quick ones, then another two slow. Tsu Ying let out a relieved sigh, stepping away from Mako to let Shu in. “You were out way past your curfew, young man. Mako and I were worried sick. We thought the spirits had eaten you.”

Shu yawned wide as he passed the woman twenty years his junior. “I got caught up on a stakeout. Remember how one of Torru's associates was talking to Patches?”

“The smuggler?” Mako asked. 

“No, the acrobat.” 

“She's an acrobat too?” Tsu Ying asked. 

Shu covered his face with his hand, and let out a slow breath. “You realize I haven't slept in two days, right? Let me start over. I caught another of Torru's lackeys chatting with somebody, so I shadowed them. He wound up meeting with one of Patches' crew, which I know because I followed her to a particularly seedy bar that recently had two Future Industries crates delivered to it.”

“Future Industries?” Mako asked. They had been concerned with new weapons making their way into the city, but he hadn't thought they might be something of Asami's. Maybe he should make more time to read the international news. 

“Are the crates still there?”

Shu shook his head, sitting on the corner of their bed and peeling off his boots. “If I left to come get you, and the deal went down while I was gone, we'd have lost the trail. As it was, it wasn't easy to stay unnoticed for that long. It's not like the other side's sleeping through this.”

“You might find it easier if you didn't keep that ridiculous mustache,” Tsu Ying teased. 

“I'll shave it off the moment you make him lose the beard.” 

Mako glanced at her. She looked stricken. “...anyway, the crates?”

Shu chuckled. “A few guys in jeeps came to pick them up.”

“Jeeps?” 

He yawned affirmatively. “They picked up a bunch of liquor too, either as a cover or to celebrate. Probably the latter, it was really fine stuff, fire whiskey. Then they drove off.”

“Any idea who they were?” 

“Other than the fact they were wearing Earth Empire uniforms? No, no leads at all.” 

“Shu...” Tsu Ying whined. 

“You think they were actually from the garrison? Or that the RLF has some jeeps and uniforms hidden away, to cast false trails?” 

“I'm not sure why the garrison would need to _smuggle_ weapons,” Shu said. 

“If they're from Future Industries, I think it's safe to say Kuvira loyalists wouldn't be able to buy them legally,” Mako said. “ _Trust_ me.” 

“Not like the Red Lotus people would, either,” Tsu Ying added. “Unless your Miss Sato cares more about money than arming the people who tried to kill the Avatar.” 

“We could go check the garrisons,” Shu suggested. 

“What, for contraband?” Tsu Ying asked. “You know as well as I how easily a garrison can vanish something it doesn't want found.” 

“Not for the guns,” Mako said, grinning at the man. “For the fire whiskey.” 

Shu winked at him as he stretched. “See how well we're picking this detective stuff up?”

“There's another possibility though,” Tsu Ying said. “It could've been actual soldiers picking them up, but they might have been dropped off somewhere along the way. Soldiers can be bribed, after all, and there's plenty of factions to divide loyalties between.” 

“So... we don't know anything,” Mako sighed. 

Tsu Ying put a hand on his chest. “Not yet. We may be able to track this down... if we look now.” The question in her eyes, unvoiced but not unasked—are you willing to miss Bolin's wedding for this?

Mako clasped her hand, running his thumb across the backs of her fingers as he thought. “We... we can't ignore this. Hopefully, we can catch a lead quickly, and track it down hard.” The wedding wasn't for a few days. They  _could_ still make it if they left tomorrow night. “Shu?” 

The man was laying flat on their bed, eyes closed. “Mm?”

Right. “You... rest for a bit. Any other hints you could give us? Unique things about the jeeps, distinguishing features of the soldiers?”

“Dented... right... fndn...” 

“Shu?” Tsu Ying poked his leg. “What was that?” 

He groaned. “Fender, woman. I said... fend...nn...”

Tsu Ying turned back to Mako, ready for orders.

She'd probably already guessed them. “Let's get looking.”

 

 

***

 

 

Su started in on her fifth cup of the strongest tea imaginable—her cook had told her it was nearly toxic but would keep her moving—and surveyed the special, high-security accommodations she'd set up for her son and his guards.

That he constituted so little a flight risk was all that made Raiko comfortable with this idea to begin with. His crimes were still less than a year old, and even barring his long sentence in Republic City, he was still technically wanted for his part in conquering Zaofu as well. However brilliant his mind, he needed to face consequences for his actions.

But he was still her son.

He was coming home, but instead of his old bedroom, he would be staying in a heavily-guarded apartment in an entirely different building, just barely visible out of her office window.

Her hands shook a little as she took a sip. With everything going on, she'd spent more time in the office in the last few days than out of it. She never should've let Opal spring this wedding on her to begin with—trying to help Korra and Asami was all well and good, but to sacrifice her own wedding to do it?

She still hadn't figured out their seating, either. How were Asami and Korra going to relate to each other? Certainly not gushing excitement, like when they'd first told her. But they were both so close to Opal and Bolin... she couldn't diminish either. And now she had to find a way to seat Junior,  _and_ give his guards access without drawing attention to them? 

“You should lay off that tea,” Toph rasped, slouching in the doorway. “I can hear your heartbeat from here.” 

“Mother,” Su said warmly, setting her drink down on the desk. “Opal said you were coming, but I wasn't sure if I should believe her.” 

“Well, believe it. I always believed in you girls, after all.” 

Suyin raised an eyebrow. “Why, that's shockingly sentimental.”

Toph shrugged. “Another one of my old friends died. I'm allowed.”

“You know about Zuko, then? _Please_ tell me you're talking about Zuko.” 

“Yes, I'm talking about Zuko. The old coot still owed me fifty yuans.” 

Su rolled her eyes. “Well, I'm glad you're here. Junior has been paroled too, just long enough to attend the wedding, so this may be the last time in a long time we can get all the Beifongs in one place.”

“Well, that might be a good thing,” Toph said, picking her teeth with her fingernail. “There's way too many Beifongs running around these days, if you ask me.” 

“ _Mother,_ ” Su complained. 

“What? I meditate in my swamp, I can keep track of what everybody is doing, what with Opal and her boyfriend and Wing and his boyfriend and Huan and his desperate need for _somebody_ to touch him—seriously, Su, why do you still encourage that awful art of his!?” 

“I _actually_ like it, Mother, and I won't have you insulting him.” 

“Beeeh,” Toph said, waving a hand before flopping lengthwise on Su's sofa. “Whatever. Point is, all your kids aren't really _yours_ anymore. I don't have much input in your or Lin's life, and you're both doing great. Lin's even got a girlfriend!” 

Su laughed. “I thought that might be why I keep hearing the phrase 'Kya and I' over the phone. I can't believe she never actually told me.”

“Pff, Lin probably hasn't even told herself yet. She probably thinks of Kya as a good friend she opens up to and cares about and frequently sleeps with, but not a 'Girl Friend'.” Toph made exaggerated air quotes. “Well, good on her either way. I don't damned well mean to interfere with whatever groove she has going. What I do want to know is—what are you going to do about Junior?” 

“Other than hug him when he gets here? I'm not sure what I can do. He made his choices.” 

“And now he gets no chance to fix them? Just, thrown in jail to rot for a million years?” 

“Okay, one, I'm pretty sure you helped write the Republic City criminal code.”

“Yeah, and you remember what I did when it ran up against family, right? If I hadn't, none of this would even _be_ here.” She twisted her hand in the air, encompassing Su's city and Su's family both in one quick gesture. 

“That's... true...” Very dangerous thinking, but more compelling than Suyin wished to admit. 

“Well, if you'll excuse me,” Toph said, kicking herself off the couch, “I haven't had a chance to enjoy plumbing in ages, and I mean to make the most of it.” 

“Uh huh. You just had to find a way to cause trouble while you were here though, didn't you?” 

“Hah! Hey, I figure, maybe if I make the rest of you miserable enough, you'll stop _wanting_ me to come out of the swamp!” 

Suyin picked her tea back up, trying to drink her way out of a growing headache. “Well, how about I talk it over with my husband and Lin, and see what they have to say.”

“Do what you want!” Toph chuckled as she stepped out of the room. From the hallway, she shouted, “That's what you've always done anyway!” 

 

 

***

 

 

Caluqtiq knew something had changed as soon as Nuktik came through her door. He wasn't his old self, but he wasn't despondent, either. He was... determined, yes, but almost desperately so.

She'd been afraid of this.

“Desna and I need your help,” he said. Desna stood impassively beside him.

She nodded, lowering herself into the simple wooden chair. “Tell me what's going on.” Tell me what long-shot, last-chance desperate gambit you've come up with. Tell me what's given you this glimmer of hope. Please, don't make me hope too. Caluqtiq wasn't sure she could take it.

“The solstice is coming, and Desna thinks something like the attacks in Kuodan could happen all over again, only worse.” 

“From what my agents tell me, the lower areas of Ba Sing Se are infested with spirits, generally small and irritable at the moment but growing more disruptive. The political situation there is tenuous, which may be driving the spirits' emotional state.” 

“...and all the spirits making their lives harder is just going to make the turmoil in the city worse,” Nuktik said. “I mean, same in Kuodan—we went there because of the spirits, but they weren't the real problem. They were just getting ready to wipe the problem _out_.” 

Caluqtiq sat up. This wasn't the conversation she'd been expecting at all. “Nuktik... we barely survived Kuodan. Now you want to rush to Ba Sing Se?”

Her son shook his head. “No. We want to go to the spirit world. We want to find where the spirits are coming from, and see if we can't deal with them at the source.”

“That... Chief Desna, you approve of this?” 

“It was her idea,” Nuktik insisted. Desna's breath caught at the pronoun. 

Luckily, the serious topic didn't stop Caluqtiq from catching it. “My Lady, you are the chief and you can send whatever forces you feel are appropriate, but... how would you even intend to find where the spirits are coming from? Distance and movement don't work the same in the Spirit World; the spirits in Ba Sing Se could be pulled from all over! And even if you do find a... staging area, whatever you might call it, what would you do then? It's not like they have a leader you can negotiate with.”

“At...” Desna's voice was rough. She cleared her throat, and started over, softer. “At the least, we would gather important information. If something like this is going to occur twice a year, that poses a severe threat to civilization itself.” 

“That... that does sound serious. But isn't this more Avatar business? She's your cousin, wouldn't she come and help?” 

“Cousin Korra is not in the most stable state herself, from what I hear. Nobody has been able to pin her down since Kuodan.” 

“What if...” Nuktik started. 

Both of them turned to him. He hesitated a moment, then continued, “That's when all of this started. Maybe something is impacting the Avatar, as well as the spirits? There  _is_ a spirit bonded to her, after all. Maybe the third Spirit Portal changed the balance of how that works?” 

“There... is another possibility,” Desna frowned. “One I had not considered.” 

“What is it?” Caluqtiq asked, dreading whatever h— _she_ was about to say. She. If anyone should be able to keep track of that, it was Caluqtiq. 

Whatever point  _Desna_ was going to make, given how terrifying everything they were already discussing was... 

“You are familiar with what happened to my father?” 

They nodded together. “That's how we learned to spirit-bend. Watching footage of Korra's fight with him.”

“And do you know what happened to him afterward?” 

“He...” Nuktik began, his eyes searching. “She cleansed him.” 

“Yes, but what does that mean? Where did he go?” 

“Well...” Caluqtiq said, crossing her arms. “When we cleanse a dark spirit, it returns to the Spirit World, where it came from. Do you think that's where Vaatu went? Back to the Spirit World, weak after his defeat, but able to spread his influence again? With a third portal, perhaps that's having an impact on the Avatar?” 

“Or maybe influencing the spirits coming into the material world?” Nuktik asked.

“What if...” Caluqtiq frowned. “Desna, you said the Avatar isn't in the best state right now. If Vaatu is influencing the Spirit World again, with another portal letting its energy flow into the material realm, could that be working against her?”

“There is... reason enough for Cousin Korra to be distressed as it is,” Desna said. “But possibly. Again, he should be considerably weakened from his defeat during Harmonic Convergence, but his creeping influence could turn thousands of spirits hostile.” 

“Just in time for the solstice,” Nuktik said, sounding ill. 

Caluqtiq leaned forward. “You sounded a little uncertain about that. Are you sure that's what happened to Vaatu?”

Desna shook her head. “Not entirely. There are a few other possibilities—when it comes down to it, Father did not give us very much information on what Vaatu wanted and what he could do. All we can do is guess based on the patterns of other spirits.”

She nodded, slowly. Something about that seemed... incomplete. “If— _if_ there  _is_ something to this, what can even be done? Whatever else is going on with her, shouldn't the Avatar be involved?” 

“My cousin remains largely unreachable, but she _is_ in the Earth territories. Whatever happens around Ba Sing Se is likely to find _her_. But there may be something we could do in the Spirit World, ourselves. At the very least, discover what became of Vaatu after he was cleansed. Surely somebody in the Spirit World knows that.” 

“And perhaps they're just as clueless as we are,” she replied. 

“Maybe they're _not_ ,” Nuktik said, grabbing Caluqtiq's arm. “Mom, you always said we need to be brave.” 

“Brave, yes, but... this is all supposition. Both on the problem even being a problem, and on there being an answer to it in the Spirit World. I'm just... I'm worried this is more about... more about finding something to throw yourself into.” 

Nuktik looked away. “That's not what this is.”

“No? There aren't other questions you're looking to have answered in the Spirit World?” 

“And what if there were?” Desna snapped. “I thought you would understand that!” 

“I do,” she said calmly. “I do. But if you charge off into the Spirit World, are you doing it to save Ba Sing Se, or... for yourselves? Life is hard enough without getting mixed up inside about what you're trying to do, and why.” 

“What do you think we should do,” Nuktik asked, weakly. “What do you think _I_ should do?”

“Come, Nuktik,” Desna said, taking his wrist. “We don't need her.” 

“I'll go with you,” Caluqtiq said, not moving from her chair. 

Both of the others stopped still.

“Nuktik... I love you. And Desna, you're incredibly brave, and you're my son's friend, and it's important to him that you succeed as well as he has, and so of course I will do anything I can to help you, too. And I also know you'd just run off through the Spirit Portal without me anyway.” 

“That... is astute,” she said, skeptically. “You will not undermine us?” 

“Never. I'm behind Nuktik all the way. And you _are_ my Chief. ” 

Desna frowned, as if she recognized the words, but they didn't make sense to her. Nuktik didn't notice, distracted as he was by hugging the life out of his mother.

“I knew you would,” he said. Caluqtiq embraced him back. 

Desna, clearly, had never seen anything like this in her life.

Caluqtiq closed her eyes. Perhaps she'd help raise a daughter after all.

 

 

***

 

 

Tsu Ying looked over the guarded compound built against the Middle Ring wall. The garrison here was responsible for overseeing half of the southeastern quadrant, it had six jeeps parked for official use, and she simply could  _not_ get a good look at them. How could she sneak in—

A turquoise spirit bird with a monkey tail landed on her shoulder.

She tried to shrug it off. Spirits were  _everywhere_ lately, why— 

“Hey,” the spirit said. “D'ya mind? I've been flying for a hundred years and I'd just like to rest for a minute.” 

“Does it have to be on my shoulder?” 

“Do you have to make such a big deal about it?” 

“Ugh... spirits lately...”

“What's that supposed to mean? We have as much right to be here as you do.” 

She was about to counter that humans had lived here for thousands of years, and weren't exactly making nuisances of themselves in the Spirit World yet, but then, they probably would be, and it wasn't like she herself was precisely 'supposed to be' where she was, spying on a military camp, either. “You can't just... colonize my shoulder, bird-thing. Why not the top of that building?”

“It's not alive.” 

“You have to land on something alive?” 

“Obviously?” 

She gritted her teeth. “Those ostrich horses over there, then?”

“They spook too easily.” 

“And I don't?” 

“You're not spooked. Just annoying.” 

Another spirit, lavender and pudgier but otherwise identical, plopped down on her second shoulder.

“Alright, no!” she said, grabbing at them. 

“Hey now!” said the newcomer. Both of them wrapped their tails around her arms. 

“This is a rude one,” the first one said. 

“Ugh, humans,” the second one agreed. 

Tsu Ying sat on the ground. They want to rest somewhere high? Fine! How about if I roll around in the dirt—!

Just as she started leaning back, both spirits flapped their wings, pulling her upward and setting her back on her feet.

She crossed her arms. “Honestly, now, this isn't going to work. I'm not a  _perch_ .” 

“Not a very good one, at least.” 

“GET OFF!” 

“Ma'am?” 

Tsu Ying looked up, wide-eyed, at the approaching soldier. “Do you need some help?”

Well. This might work. “Oh,  _thank you_ sir!” She feigned sobbing. “These spirits, they simply will not leave me in peace!” She wrapped her arms around him, shaking into his shoulder. 

“Here, let's get you inside,” he said. “Some spirits don't like doors.” 

“The only 'inside' there is where we come from is 'inside' another spirit,” the lavender one complained.” 

“I don't want to be eaten by a building!” said the other. They began to flap. 

Soon, Tsu Ying found herself as the subject of a tug-of-war between two incredibly stubborn spirits and no less than five soldiers from the garrison, and her shoulders were losing. “I don't want to be taken to the Spirit World!” she cried. “I just want to see my children again!”

“Hold her still,” one of the guards said, drawing a blade. 

“Hey!” both spirits shouted at once, dropping her suddenly then flapping to assault the offending guard. 

“Come on!” the first man who'd come to help her said, getting her to her feet and running her into the compound while the other four fended off the honking, feathery menaces. She didn't have to fake a sense of panic as she ran, but she did have the presence of mind to play it up, wide-eyed and shaking.

Unfortunately, they didn't run past the jeeps, and went straight into the sick hall. Both of them were breathing hard after her gallant helper slammed the door behind them, leaning against it as if they were being chased.

“Hey!” somebody in the sick hall complained, close enough to the way the spirits had said it to make her tense up. “Sleeping off a hangover, here, keep it quiet!” Another four voices groaned in agreement. 

Hangover?

“Shut up, Li. It's not our fault you idiots can't handle your Fire Whiskey.” 

Well.

That worked out.

 

 

_***_

 

 

Asami didn't remember having gone to sleep, but she awoke, still wearing what she'd had on the night before. Her ears popped, and from the sound of the engines they were descending.

At least the wine had kept the nightmares away. Or kept her from remembering them.

She rose, glancing in a mirror. She'd slept in her makeup again, but managed not to smear it all over her pillows this time. Distantly, she scolded herself for it, but the last few months, she'd found more and more little things were sliding.

Not today, though. She looked in the closet in her private stateroom—part of her almost reached for her engineering outfit, the one she used for work or fighting. But no, that wasn't the kind of fight she had to be ready for.

She quickly narrowed the choices down to three—her serious work attire, with the thin tie and the low-cut vest over pants, the form-hugging dress she'd bought for a date they'd never gone on, or the snazzy outfit she'd been wearing the last time she'd reunited with Korra.

She tapped her knuckle beneath her lip, as if contemplating a move in Pai Sho. Every decision was a statement. Every move revealed something. Independence? Allure? Welcome? What did she wish to say?

The dress and the skirt went back into the closet. Those didn't say what she wanted to. Besides, the pants had pockets, and she had a few things she wished to carry.

Asami moved to the mirror in her private stateroom, touching up her eyes, reapplying lipstick, brushing out her hair. There was no time for a wash, but gathering most and leaving a few strategic curls... there. The perfect young executive who could enchant you with a smile then run you right over. She even managed to hide the shadows under her eyes.

She didn't feel the confidence she exuded, but often enough, the guise alone would get you through. And she knew Korra—or thought she had. Well enough, at least, to not be played again.

The airship was making its final approach as she stepped out. Asami went to the cockpit to watch. A small crowd was waiting for them—including one particular figure in blue.

“Could I borrow your binoculars?” she asked the navigator. 

“Of course.” 

She steadied her hands, adjusted the focus...

and let out a breath she'd been holding half a year.

Korra.

She looked like hell.

 

 

_***_

 

 

The airship settled to the ground, a dozen or so minders rushing forward to tether it down. Korra stood, her breathing shallow. Had she seen a flash of pale skin in the cockpit?

Korra shuddered. The apparition had been gone when she'd woken up. Or at least, it had been  _absent_ . 

It should have relieved her; instead, every moment between waking and now, her dread had mounted.

_Was_ that Asami on the ship? Could she trust who she saw step off of it? Could she trust her, even if it  _was_ the real Asami? 

Korra made a fist, and screamed defiantly in her mind:  _Yes!_ Whatever else happened, whatever had crossed between them, whatever she might have... misunderstood about Asami Sato, Korra still trusted her with her life. 

Any voice that told her otherwise was a lie.

That voice was a lie.

The ramp descended, and before it even touched the ground, Naga was bounding toward her.

Korra smiled for the first time in months, leaping at the polar bear dog as she got near and wrapping her arms around Naga's neck. “Hey, girl!” she said, shocked that she was already crying, wiping the tears in Naga's fur. “I missed you. Every time I leave you behind turns out awful. I need to stop doing that.”

Naga chuffed agreement, nuzzling her side.

Korra heard a deep laugh, and her heart melted a little more. “Dad,” she greeted as he came into view over Naga's shoulder.

“Hey,” he said, reaching over and running his hand through her hair. “Are you okay?” 

She leaned her head into his hand, her eyes closed. “I'm trying really hard to be. She's here?”

Dad nodded. “Nobody said anything but... I imagine the landing pad will be clear of everyone else rather quickly.”

Korra took a deep breath, nodding. She... wasn't ready, but she probably never would be. At the same time...

Asami was here. The real, warm, flesh and blood Asami. Her heart trembled.

Tonraq glanced behind him. “C'mon, Naga. Korra will play with you later. She has someone else she needs to reconnect with.”

Naga whined, but allowed herself to be led away. Korra watched them go, aware of where the airship was, but not turning toward it. The last of Bolin's cousins and extended family were flooding into Zaofu, most of them looking around in wide-eyed wonder. Grandma Yin was scolding one of the younger ones about something or other.

She waved weakly at Tenzin—a tremor running through her as she saw his scar. Ikki spotted her and began to run her way, but Pema snatched her collar and guided her back toward the family, leaning down to whisper to her. Kai followed behind Jinora, sparing Korra a worried glance.

A small cadre of guards came next, surrounding the two Bataars. Senior had his hand on Junior's shoulder; Junior was feeling his wrists, as if for phantom chains.

Lin and Kya walked behind them, Lin's hand low on Kya's waist. Spirits, Lin was actually  _smiling_ . Bolin staggered in their wake, cradling his head, squinting against the sunlight, Pabu catatonic in his arms. 

Then, there was Eska, who stopped to look at her. “Asami is right there,” she said, pointing toward the airship. “You should turn that way.”

She licked her lips, and turned.

Asami was waiting for her.

There was no mistaking her for a hallucination. She was vibrant and beautiful, her eyes shimmering as she looked back at Korra, a few loose strands of hair trembling in the wind.

Korra could also tell at once, even before the glance became a stare, that Asami had her guard up. That she was waiting for the enemy to come to her.

Korra covered her mouth, choking back a sudden sob. She couldn't blame Asami for looking at her like an enemy, but...

She tore her eyes away, just for a moment, just long enough to collect herself, and look again. “Hi,” she said, taking a step forward.

“Hello,” Asami replied, staying where she was. “You're looking well.” 

Korra blew out a small laugh. “That, Asami, is a polite lie.”

She expected Asami to smirk, to chuckle a little. Instead, her lip stiffened, just _so_. She held her neck straight. “You're doing well, though?”

Korra took a deep breath, and almost spouted a platitude. “Not really,” she admitted, swallowing, taking another step.

Asami, still, held her ground. Held herself still.

Okay, she was mad. This was expected. “Asami... I'm sorry.”

Asami's body stiffened. So did her voice. “What for?”

“Because... I was so hurt, and angry, and maybe we still have some stuff to discuss about these guns of yours, but I shouldn't've taken out your factories like that. And part of me knew it, I knew it was just, lashing out, because I couldn't believe you'd make those things, couldn't believe you hadn't told me, but that's between me and you. Your company should be off limits.” 

Asami, her beloved Asami, swallowed. “And?”

“And?” Korra scratched the back of her head, taking another step toward her. Closer now. “And I will do anything I can to help rebuild.” Closer. “I know that's not much, but—”

“Do you really think the factories are the worst of it?” 

Korra stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“I...” Asami looked away, pressed her lips together, locked her eyes on Korra again. “You're right, I _am_ mad about the factories, I _am_ mad that you thought attacking the one thing I have left of my family was an appropriate way to show your disagreement. But that's... that's not even the biggest problem, Korra.” 

“It's... it's not?” 

“Six. Months. Korra. We could have shouted this out _six months_ ago, over the telephone if we had to, but you went silent and you _ran away_. You _left_.” 

“Asami—”

“You _promised_ you would always be there for me. You _promised_ you would never shut me out. Where have you even _been_? Did you get spirit amnesia again?” 

Asami hadn't moved, but Korra found herself stepping back. “N... no. Asami—”

“I had to go home _every_ night, not sure whether you were alive or dead, following rumors and hearsay as you tore a swathe through a war zone, and you couldn't be bothered to pick up a phone? A radio? Answer even one of my letters? Maybe if I wrote for another year and a half, I'd finally have gotten a reply to those!” 

“Wait, letters?” 

Asami took a deep breath through flared nostrils. She closed her eyes, straightening her vest. “I wondered if any of them managed to get to you, the way you were moving around. Then I thought, maybe that was the point. You didn't want to be found.” Her eyes opened, stabbing into Korra's. “Did you.”

Korra bit her lip, and shook her head.

Asami tilted her head back, her thick ponytail hanging loose. “Korra... what am I supposed to do? I love you, I can't help that. But look at you! You look like you've been living in mud for a month. You saw Lord Zuko die, you were horrified by everything that happened, and I can only imagine how much that must have shattered you, but if you can't come to me  _then_ , if you can't trust me enough to help you, if... if you're going to run away like this whenever—”

Korra rushed forward, her heart pounding. She took Asami's hands, kissing her fingers. “No, nonono, Asami. It's not like that!”

Asami grunted, drawing her hands in, and Korra with them. “It is, though. Whatever other problems this all has brought up between us... you left.” She wriggled her hands free, turning away. “You weren't there for me, and you wouldn't let me be there for you. What are we then?” She shrugged wide, letting her hands slap against her legs. “What's the point?” she said, her voice cracking.

“What are you saying?” Korra said, tears streaking down her face. 

“I... W-We...” Asami's throat was catching on the words. 

“No,” Korra breathed, sinking to her knees, clutching the front of Asami's vest. “Please...” 

Asami stepped back, fishing in her pocket for something. She pulled out a ring of keys. The same Korra had recovered from the airship crash, that had given her the hope she needed to make it through her recovery, to make it back to Republic City. Korra choked as Asami pushed them into her hands, wrapping her fingers around them. She tried to hand them back as Asami lingered, but a sob escaped Asami's throat and she hurried away.

Korra pulled the keys to herself, falling onto her side. She didn't even cry. She didn't even want to breathe.

A shadow fell across her. Half a ton of warm fluff surrounded her, nudging her head. Korra hugged Naga's paw until her father sat down with her, taking her hand in his, stroking it quietly as she shivered on the ground, staring away, trying not to throw up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. 
> 
> I'm so, so sorry. 
> 
> Yell and scream at me if you need to. This... was a long time, building up. Just remember that this isn't the END of the story—far from it. It's an obstacle. A big, ugly, tear-inducing obstacle... 
> 
> Honestly, this sort of high drama is what I wrote the story for to begin with, and even so, it was tough to write. I don't regret it—the scene came together well, and what comes after is great, building up toward downright wonderful. 
> 
> Still. 
> 
> We've reached peak angst. 
> 
> I'll probably post something REALLY fluffy in the next day or two to help cut the pain. 
> 
> *smiles weakly and hides behind something sturdy*
> 
> Other than that... here's a link to what Asami was wearing at the end. Becasue I'm sure that's the detail you're all curious about.
> 
>  
> 
> [ _http://68.media.tumblr.com/800e03710c2e8c8ade7001c0f03d95d0/tumblr_ns84nxcSGF1qm8wf8o3_500.jpg_ ](http://68.media.tumblr.com/800e03710c2e8c8ade7001c0f03d95d0/tumblr_ns84nxcSGF1qm8wf8o3_500.jpg)
> 
>  
> 
> And there are all those other plotlines bouncing around too. All swirling towards a certain storied metropolis. I wonder what's up with all that? Eh? Eh? I swear I'm not just trying to distract you? 
> 
> *Deep breath* At this point, ya'll either trust me or you don't. This roller coaster has a few more loops left--just trust me, the ride will be worth it! 
> 
> *Puts on helmet and posts*


	27. Consequences

_Dear Korra,_  
  


_Of all the letters I've ever sent, the previous two are the only ones I wish I never had. Perhaps you aren't receiving these. You have little interest in talking to me; maybe you don't have any interest in listening, either._

_But then, I remember before._

_Two years, I wrote, and heard nothing, and kept writing. I try to be self-aware, I try to minimize or compensate for my flaws, my weaknesses. I wonder, are you a blind spot, like my father was? Because you certainly have a way of disordering my thinking._

_You attacked my company. With care that nobody was injured—even in your fury, you would still not do that—but perhaps that makes it all the scarier._

_The Avatar declared war on Future Industries._

_And that doesn't scare me half as much as thinking that I'll never see your smile again. Never hear your laugh._

_Don't misunderstand me. I'm still furious with you. You had no right to destroy so much because of decisions I made, and I'm not sure you're fully aware of how much damage you did—not to me, but to the communities built around those factories._

_But I'm not going to write you an economics lesson. Though I may shout one at you when I get the chance._

_I still love you._

_Isn't that pathetic?_

_I was patient before. I gave you the time you needed. I knew you were hurting, I knew you couldn't be there for me, not like I wanted. I waited, and I hoped, and you came to me, for a short while._

_Is that all I get?_

_Is that all I'll ever get?_

_I don't doubt that you're hurting again. I know you, Korra. I know how conflicted you must feel. I can detach myself from my own fear and anger enough at this point to see. You don't know what to say. You don't know if you're supposed to hate me, or if I'm supposed to hate you. You're not sure who I am, maybe not even sure who you are._

_We're still the same two women who spent those two weeks in the Spirit World._

_I still love you._

_I wish to pummel you senseless, but I still love you._

_And I still know you. And I know you still love me._

_Only... that isn't necessarily enough, is it?_

_I gave you everything, Korra. All of me._

_Why is that never enough?_

_It takes more than love to build a life together. It takes cooperation and communication and respect. And right now you're not giving me any of them._

_I still love you._

_And that's what makes this hurt._

 

 

***

 

 

Opal ran across the atrium and leapt into Bolin's arms, causing her fiance to stumble back with the force of her kiss. Once his footing became sure, he returned the favor, and for a long moment, she closed her eyes and just _felt_ him. Smelled him, sensed him, tasted him... 

It had been too long.

Bolin chuckled as they finished. “Feeling better?”

“Uh huh,” she breathed, nuzzling against his chest. “Missed you.” 

“Missed you too, babe.” He squeezed her against himself, as the airbending family and most everyone else continued into the city, leaving only Tonraq and Naga waiting by the stairs. 

“They're up there?” Opal asked, nodding upward. 

Bolin looked up, as if he could see through the solid metal ceiling to the airship pad above. “Yeah. I... considering how much work we put into this, I hope it works out.”

“It has to,” Opal said. “I mean, we're _pretty_ dorky about each other—” 

“Hey!” 

“Oh, don't pretend,” she wrinkled her nose and nuzzling under his chin. “But those two, when they looked at each other and the whole world fell away... the way they could make each other smile when nobody else could...” 

“Well, I sorta thought the same thing when Korra was dating Mako, too. They were really happy for a few months, and it all just...” 

“This is going to be different, though,” Opal said. “They're both... more mature and... and Korra's really ready to apologize, I know she is.” 

“I'm... Asami's in a bad place,” Bolin said. “I remember four years ago, when we took her father to jail. This is worse.” 

“Well... good thing we got them back together then. Good thing—” 

“Opal.”

She looked up, and saw the sad look in his eyes as they tracked something past her. She turned, and saw Asami, rushing through the atrium, eyes ahead and intent, lower lip out, trembling.

“Asami?” Opal called, reaching out with one hand while her other clasped Bolin's shirt.

Asami shook her head, continuing through, just a hair away from running.

“Oh no,” Opal breathed. She looked back at her fiance, who in turn was watching Naga and Tonraq go back up the stairs. 

Whatever had happened, Korra was taken care of. Asami shouldn't be alone. Opal stepped just far enough from Bolin for their hands to clasp, and they rushed after.

What had Korra said!? What had happened?! And where did Asami think she was going?

It turned out, not far. They found her hunched in an alcove, her hair hanging around her face, one hand covering her mouth.

“Asami...” Bolin said, a tentative hand on her shoulder. 

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself, turning away.

Opal touched her arm, gently pulling her into a hug. “You don't have to talk, Asami.” Dammit, what happened?! What had they done? “It's okay.”

Asami made a sound, a gut-tearing sound that might have began as a “no,” but collapsed into a wail. Only her two friends' arms held her up as Asami Sato, finally, shattered.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Hon checked his watch. President Raiko had kept them waiting for nearly half an hour. It was common for press conferences to be a little delayed, but Raiko seemed to take a particular glee in making people wait for him. Apparently the powers of the presidency were too indirect for him, as if these petty little exhibitions of power made up for his ineffectual leadership.

Well, Raiko should know better than to torment the press. Perhaps he'd developed a taste for direct influence these past four years, but the papers had a power of their own. And the way Raiko always fretted when new polls came out said that, to some extent, he knew it.

Finally, Raiko appeared, approaching the podium in front of the Capital steps. Hon had his pencil and pad out, ready to jot down notes. He glanced at Run Di, from the _United Times_ ; she gave him a nod. Their papers may be competing, but there was nothing saying they couldn't work together. Besides, when there was blood in the water, competition became less important than finishing the target off. 

Especially if it didn't realize it was bleeding.

The President cleared his throat. “Good morning. Or I suppose, it would have been if we'd started on time.” He smirked at the cameras.

What a complete ass.

“In recent days, allegations have been levied against me by Chief Beifong of the RCPD. Chief Beifong and I have often failed to see eye-to-eye, but given the high regard with which she is held, and as the last major holdover from the Council government still in power, I have endeavored to work with her. Up until recently, I thought we had established a strong and mutually beneficial working relationship. However, the unexpected and frankly, unethical attack she has levied against me must be answered. 

“First of all, to address the allegations themselves—yes, I did order the creation of a rifle unit within the RCPD, as a force of last resort against the most dangerous of threats. The employment of lethal force is not something I take lightly, however cold-blooded Lin may wish you to think me. The RCPD has even used the weapons in the field, during the wildly successful sting operation I initiated to rid the city of the Triad menace. Republic City has always been a center for innovation—why should we not adopt new technology as it becomes available?

“Now, Chief Beifong accuses me of wishing to turn this crack unit into a personal enforcement squad. This simply could not be further from the truth and frankly, the accusation is dangerous. I was barely into the first year of my presidency when a group of benders tried to kidnap me—an attempt that Lin's RCPD was grossly ineffectual at preventing, and if you'll recall, it was the athlete and actor, Bolin, who actually affected my rescue. Not Chief Beifong.”

Ah, it was to be character assassination then. And Beifong was out of the city for a wedding—terrible timing for her. Toph Beifong's daughter had long been nearly press-proof from family association alone, but she'd never faced concerted opposition within the government, either.

“But, never mind that. The president—whoever may occupy this office—requires protection. What might have happened here if the Red Lotus had struck Republic City, instead of Ba Sing Se?” 

Hon stifled a grin at Raiko's mention of the terrorist group. All the other reporters were jotting it down voraciously. He waited, playing along.

“For her to characterize my desire for personal security in this troubled world as a power grab...” he shook his head sadly, though he doubted anybody watching was fooled. “She had every opportunity, as Chief of Police, to make her opinion known privately. This city has accommodated her sometimes unpredictable demands, whether it be to hunt down Amon on her own, or leave the city for weeks with no notice, to chase after the Avatar as if she were some White Lotus bodyguard. For her to bring up this level of scrutiny to what is simply a matter of institutional bookkeeping... it is conduct unbecoming her position. So, effective immediately, I am relieving Lin Beifong of command of the Republic City Police Department.”

Shocked questions flooded from the reporters around him. Raiko was ready with canned answers. Hon had already written his paper's response to them in advance—they were nothing if not predictable. Beifong's removal had been all but certain the moment her own press conference ended—and she had to have known that.

“You there, in the lovely blouse,” Raiko said, pointing to Run Di. Hon tensed. 

She lowered her hand and raised her voice. “You mentioned the Red Lotus anarchist group. Reports are coming in that Red Lotus have started utilizing rifles in their own campaigns across the Earth territories—”

“Another reason it's important for us to have our own well-trained riflemen,” Raiko said, a classic deflection. His eyes were already searching for a safer question, honing in on Run Di's competitor—Hon. “Mr. Hon, you have a question?” 

Hon certainly did. The sort one didn't ask unless he already knew the answer. “Yes sir, a simple yes or no one. Did you sell the Red Lotus those rifles?”

Raiko closed his eyes slowly, taking a second too long to process what he'd just heard. “That... This press conference is to discuss Lin Beifong—”

Hon started jotting the other reporters' questions like mad—they all recognized how explosive this story could be. But while they were playing catch-up, he'd be publishing a detailed analysis of Future Industries production and sales figures, when they were delivered and to who, proving that the rifles literally could not have come from anywhere else  _but_ Republic City's initial supply. And Run Di would be running an article in her own paper about the President's itinerary, and meetings with envoys from Red Lotus territory, kept off the official schedule, but still signed in by security... 

Raiko would be in the headlines the next morning, of that there was no doubt. If Beifong was mentioned at all, well... to have Raiko feuding with you right as he exploded might be a good place to be.

A barrage of cameras caught the sweat on Raiko's brow as he retreated from the podium. Hon grinned. Of all the reporters in the city, Beifong seemed to hate him least. Perhaps he could get an interview when she returned?

He gave Run Di a nod, and joined the flow of reporters, scurrying back to their offices. He may have a head start on the rest of them, but that never lasted long.

It was barely lunch time, but he knew, it was going to be a long night.

 

 

***

 

 

Tonraq closed the door gently behind him. Korra hadn't said a word since talking to Asami, hadn't even seemed present when he guided her to his quarters and put her in bed. She'd curled up tight and closed her eyes, sweating beneath the blankets and shivering all the while, until finally, she'd fallen asleep. Whether from exhaustion or as an escape, he couldn't say.

So far, he had no idea what they'd said to each other on the landing pad, but he could certainly infer the result. Both of them had left with their hearts broken. But as much as he wished to be angry at Asami for hurting his little girl... he understood how difficult a relationship with Korra was.

Tonraq wasn't the only one who she'd given trouble as they watched her grow up.

He'd seen which room was Tenzin's as he'd brought Korra in—at least, he saw the room Jinora was watching them from, clenched hands over her lips and eyes wide.

He knocked. “Enter,” Tenzin replied, subdued.

Tonraq let himself through the door, and the entire family was there, frowning and quiet. Ikki's eyes were red as Pema held her in the corner. Even Meelo and Rohan seemed down.

Tonraq crossed his arms. “Come on, guys. It's not like anybody died.”

“Tonraq!” Pema said. “You can't seriously be taking this in stride!”

“Could you tell us what, exactly, happened?” Tenzin asked.

Tonraq shook his head. “I didn't overhear, and Korra isn't speaking, but it certainly wasn't what anybody was hoping for.” Spirits... how was he going to tell Senna? “Neither of them would want everyone to be miserable on their accounts.”

“No they wouldn't,” Jinora said, sitting on a sofa beside Kai. “They're both very selfless that way. They deserve... deserved some happiness, after all they've been through.”

“Yes, they do. And they may well still find it.”

Everybody perked up. “But...” Kai asked, “didn't they—”

“Tenzin, remember how Korra pushed us _both_ away, when she was having trouble dealing with spirits?” 

The airbender frowned. “I... try not to remember it often, but yes.”

“But she came back to you. Korra sided with my brother for a time, but when she learned what was actually going on, she came back to me. Just because this is where they are, _now_ , doesn't mean it will stay that way.” 

“Are you saying... we should still try to get them back together?” Jinora asked. “I don't think either of them would appreciate us making that decision for them.” 

“He has a point though,” said Pema. “They both hurt each other. Neither of them is blameless, and they can't just gloss over what happened.”

“But they love each other!” Ikki insisted. 

“And in some way, they always will,” Tenzin said. Ikki's lip trembled, and she started crying into her hands. Apparently it wasn't the right thing to say. 

“Look...” Tonraq said. “Long term, maybe they will both see each other as they did before. But right now? Two of the finest young women in the world need their friends to be there for them. I'm not going to be alone in that, am I?” 

“Of course not,” Tenzin sighed. “We have to be careful, though, that we all support them both. Neither of them deserves to feel as if someone in their life chose the other over them.” 

“That might be a little more difficult for me, considering,” Tonraq said. 

The whole room sighed at once.

“This stinks,” Kai said. “Do we at least know who did the breaking?” 

“Asami,” Jinora and Pema said together. 

Kai looked between them. “How do girls do that?”

“Asami's been a steamroller, and Korra's been running,” Jinora shrugged, shaking her head. “Poor Asami...” 

“Poor Asami? I thought she was the one that broke it off.” 

“Exactly,” Pema said. “She broke Korra's heart, _and_ her own. I'll say one thing for her—she never backs down from something she thinks needs doing.” 

Jinora stood. “I'm going to help her.”

“Wait, now?” Kai asked. 

“When else?” Jinora asked. 

“Before you go,” Tenzin said, “there's something else we all need to keep in mind. We came here to celebrate Bolin and Opal's love.” 

“That was all a front to get Asami and Korra back together, though,” Kai said. 

Every woman in the room stared at him. “It's still their wedding.”

“I expect Korra and Asami will spend the next day or two building a strong face, so they can make it through the ceremony,” Tenzin said. “I'm not sure they'd appreciate us interfering now. Perhaps, after—”

“Perhaps, five months ago,” Jinora said. “They both need help, they both tend to run away from it, and neither of them is better off when they do!” 

“Jinora,” Tenzin said, but she was already stepping around Tonraq and out of the room. He sighed, watching her go. 

“I could use a walk myself,” Tonraq said. “Korra's sleeping across the hall. Could you all just... keep an eye on her?” 

“Make sure she doesn't run away again?” Pema asked. 

Tonraq winced, but couldn't argue. She would face any danger and would give up her life to save anyone... but once the battle turned inward, she had no idea what to do.

How could Korra win a fight inside herself?

 

 

***

 

 

Desna paused as they crested a rise in the Spirit World, the twin Portals glowing in the distance behind them. She squinted at the Northern fortification, barely visible at this distance.

“Are you okay?” Nuktik asked.

Desna nodded, setting down her bag. “I am. I require a moment.”

The other two stopped, watching her curiously.

Not judgmentally, not accusingly. Desna could trust them.

Still, her hands hesitated as she took two of Eska's hair bands from her pack. She began to gather some of the hair by her ears, as her sister had. Was this enough? How did Eska decide how much hair went in each?

“Hey,” Caluqtiq said, a light touch on Desna's forearm. She froze. She was doing it wrong, of course she was. Stupid! Stu—

“Would you like me to help you even those out?” Caluqtiq asked. “It can be difficult, without a mirror.”

A mirror. Right. “Of... of course.”

Caluqtiq smiled, hands making quick work of the two bands. “You know,” Caluqtiq said, “if you like, once this is all over, I would be happy to show you some of the more elaborate styles. They are quite involving—quite a few women my age can't get them right. But we could do some lovely things with your hair, I think.”

“I... yes. Yes that would be most courteous of you.”

She smiled at her, squeezing her shoulder. “C'mon. I'm not sure where we're going, but we won't find it standing here.”

Desna shouldered her pack again. The hair bands bounced off her shoulders with each step. It was a simple thing, but even that, she'd never have the courage to do back home. The eyes of every guard, the questions of every minister... she wasn't sure what could be worse than Mother's silence, but likely Mother would discover something.

“Mom,” Nuktik asked quietly.

“Hmm?”

“You...” he sighed. “Nothing.”

“Hmm.” They walked for a moment, Desna watching with fascination. “You're sure.”

“Yeah, it's nothing.”

“Mhm.” She put an arm around his shoulder. “You know you're amazing, right, Nuktik?”

“Mom,” he complained, blushing.

“Every day I think I couldn't be prouder of you, only to find the next day proving me wrong. I'm amazed at the man you've become, you know that, right?”

“You don't... you don't ever regret... who I could have been?”

Caluqtiq smiled, looking ahead. “You are my child. What's the rest matter?”

“It's just... you really seemed to enjoy helping her. But you sided with me and the others went with Dad and I don't... all those girly things that you might have passed on to me...”

“You didn't need those things. Do you think I'd have loved you any less if you were a firebender? Or not a bender at all?”

Nuktik shook his head.

“Then stop worrying about it!” Caluqtiq laughed, running her hand through his short hair.

Desna looked away, feeling as if she'd intruded on a very private moment, an intimate thing. People did not behave this way, did they? With their children?

“And Desna...” Caluqtiq added, “forgive me if I overstep, because you are still my chief. But... you've taken a few very brave steps. I'm honored that you've given us the opportunity to be part of them, and proud of what you've already done.”

She heard every word, but continued walking, her head forward. No, people certainly did not behave this way, not in her experience. “Enough of this. We should increase our pace.”

“Of course,” Caluqtiq said. “Though it would help if we knew where we were going.”

Wouldn't it, though?

 

 

***

 

 

“How can you be charging that much for beets!” a customer was complaining as Mako, Tsu Ying, Wei, and Shu walked past a vegetable cart. “They're half rotted!”

Mako heard part of the reply as it fell out of earshot: “That's all that came out of the ground, after the spirit boar...”

Again with the spirits. Was that just happening here, or was that everywhere? He'd have to ask Korra and Tenzin, once they got to the wedding. Assuming they could wrap this whole weapons business up in the next... couple of hours...

He shook his head. It could still happen.

They approached the guard post, and Mako pulled out the signed order from Wu. Tsu Ying hid in the back—she didn't want the guard who'd helped her to get in trouble if he wasn't involved, but Mako wanted as much backup as he could get in case they _had_ stumbled into some sort of plot. Hopefully, the Earth Empire uniforms he'd scrounged up would make her harder to recognize.

The approached the sentries, and Mako saluted. “Inspection orders,” he said, handing them over.

The sentry glanced at them. “Let me get my duty officer. Wait here.”

Mako nodded, trying to look slightly impatient, but not rushed. The four remaining guards watched them, the two in the back making small talk with each other but remaining alert.

Before long, the guard returned with his commanding officer. She stood in front of Mako, reading over the order again. “Orders from the Convention,” she said, folding them back up. “But only one of the chairs signed it.”

“Yeah,” Mako said, as if he were confused it was being brought up. “Only one signature is required for a simple inspection order,” Mako said. “Two are only needed to override existing orders. All we need to do is look around.”

“Mhm. And what exactly are you looking for, Corporal...”

“Sergeant.” He knew what rank insignia he was wearing—but the fact that she was testing him was not good. “Sergeant Chao. We have intelligence about a smuggling operation involving some of your people.”

“Is that so? Yet you couldn't get two of the chairs to sign off?”

“Two signatures weren't necessary.” It would be one thing if she'd denied it, but why the hard time? “Why should I have bothered General Jing when I already had the one?”

She tilted her head. “What about the third chair? Why not go to him? I would think he'd be more than happy to see a garrison investigated.”

“Because Torru is an ass. Ma'am,” he replied.

Tsu Ying made a strained sound behind him.

The Corporal glanced at her, a slight smile on her own face. “A refreshingly frank opinion,” she said. She tapped the orders on her chin, considering. “Wait here. I'll call this in to the General's office. So long as I get his okay, you can search everything you like.”

“And I'm supposed to wait here, and take your word on what he says?”

“Yes, _Sergeant_ , you are. Wait here.” She went back inside, taking the orders with her. 

“Don't question a superior's orders,” Tsu Ying hissed. “She's suspicious now.”

“Do you think she's actually going to call the General?” Wei asked.

“Do you think the General's going to order us arrested?” corrected Shu.

“Stay calm, guys,” Mako said. “But... be ready to run.”

“Mako,” Tsu Ying said, “if she wants to detain us, she's going to _say_ we got our way and invite us in.” 

Oh. That would be smart. “So, what, do we run now?”

“They don't know we've got two benders,” Wei said. 

“And any or all of them could be,” said Tsu Ying. “I told you we should've just snuck in!” 

“Shh!” 

The Corporal returned, faster than Mako had expected. She had her eyes locked on them, her jaw set.

Mako had seen Chief Beifong with that look in her eye more than once.

He took a deep breath. “Wei?”

“Yeah?”

“Call Zaofu. Apologize that I'm not going to make it to the wedding.”

“Mako—” Tsu Ying started as the Corporal stepped close. “Come with me.”

“Thank you,” he said, as if he suspected nothing. “You three, wait here.”

“They'll be coming too,” she said, grabbing Mako's arm.

There. He was captured. He turned to the others, and shouted, “Run!”

Wei and Shu did. Tsu Ying took a step, and a look at his eyes, fought with herself a moment, and then she ran too.

Mako let out a relieved sigh as the other soldiers gave chase. Though she'd started a few paces behind, Tsu Ying quickly outran Shu and Wei, who threw an earth wall up behind them as soon as she did.

The solders behind him knocked him to his knees. They were safe, and they'd come back for him soon enough. Now, he had to focus on the job at hand.

The soldiers escorting him into the encampment may have thought he was scared of what they were going to do to him; honestly, he was more scared of having to explain to Opal why he missed the wedding.

Sorry, Bo. Another battle for another day.

 

 

***

 

 

Asami paused in the stairwell, the airship mostly in view. It had been hours since she and Korra had... talked. Obviously, she wouldn't still be where Asami had left her.

She shoved the thought aside, mounting the last few stairs and walking across the empty platform, through the empty airship, into her empty stateroom, hoping to empty a bottle or three.

“Hi, Asami,” Jinora said as she opened her stateroom door.

“Aah!” Asami yelped, actually impacting the opposite bulkhead. “Spirits' sake... what are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Jinora said.

“It's my airship! I can do as I please. Answer my question.”

“I came to help you.”

“I don't want any help!”

“Do you want to be the person who snaps at her friends?”

Asami stopped. She had just done that, hadn't she? “Jinora, I... I can't right now. I don't want to talk about it, or hug it out, or...” She'd just spent the last few hours crying her eyeshadow off and ruining Bolin's shirt in the process. “I don't want to think about anything.”

“Exactly,” Jinora said, kicking off her shoes and knee-walking onto the bed. “I'm here to help you meditate.”

“M...meditate?”

Jinora nodded, taking a lotus position. Like Korra did, when she wanted to visit the Spirit World.

Asami shook the thought away.

“Yes. Oneness with the body, stillness of the mind, detachment from the world.

As attractive as that was, she had a bottle of it waiting for her. “I've never meditated in my life.”

“You may have had a better day today if you had.”

“Jinora—”

“What do you have to lose? I'm offering you peace, on your own terms. Detachment. Clarity.”

“Things are clear enough,” Asami murmured.

“Are they? Are you protesting with any actual logic, or merely out of stubbornness?”

“I—! You—! Jinora just leave me alone, please!”

“You'll still have yourself to deal with,” Jinora shrugged, stepping off the bed. “What do you think you'll say, when thinking over this conversation? How would the Asami Sato you want to be act?”

Asami glared at her, and—

What was she doing?

She closed her eyes, and let out a harsh breath. “Jinora... don't let it go to your head, but you're right. How... how should we start?”

Jinora got back on the bed. “Take off your boots, and sit up here with me. We'll start with your breathing.”

Asami did as instructed, castigating herself for being so short with her. Jinora only came to help; her problems with Korra were no reason to take it out on her. Who knew? Maybe the meditation would help.

Besides.

She had nothing left to lose.

 

 

***

 

 

Every comfort of home was like a paper cut. A tiny wound, slice, slice, slice... individually minor, but together...

Bataar Jr. had never thought he'd see his home again. Seeing it now, and knowing that it never _would_ be... how did one internalize that? He looked  out the window, at his family's estate gleaming in the summer sun—he'd helped his father design the roof so that it wouldn't reflect too much light into the city and blind anybody. It had been a fascinating project, combining optics and astronomy and...

He shook his head, stepping back into the apartment suite set up for him and his guards. The windows were lined with platinum bars—more to keep any family or friends he might have in the city from plucking him out than to prevent his own gangly self from making an attempt.

Not that he had any friends left in the city. Not after being gone for three years, then coming back with an army and forcing everyone to kneel. As for family...

He crumpled into a chair beside the small table. Family. Opal had wanted him here, apparently. They hadn't spoken in nearly a year, not since the trial. In another world, he and Kuvira would already have been married, while Opal...

What would have become of Opal?

What would have become of him?

A knock came at his door. “I'm—” He cleared his throat, started over. “I'm up.”

“Visitor,” said one of the guards.

The door opened.

His sister was there.

Arms crossed, guarded.

But there.

“Bataar,” she said.

“Opal,” he smiled. Should he stand? Go for a hug? She hadn't stepped into the room yet—would she let him, if he tried? “You look amazing.”

“Mmn.” She walked in enough to clear the doorway, one of the guards following behind her. A chaperone. Opal paid her no mind.

He leaned forward in his chair, hands clasped in his lap. What was there to say? He'd turned his back on her, on his whole family, out of some twisted-up sense of... what? Being overshadowed? Underappreciated? What?

What did Opal need to hear?

What was important?

He looked up. He looked at her. “You're happy, right?”

“What?” she asked, eyes still narrow.

“You're happy. With Bolin. Everything is going well for you? You have friends, everything is... everything is good?”

“I... well I wouldn't say _everything_ is good right now. But yeah, I'm happy.”

Bataar nodded, looking down at the floor. “Good, that's... I'm glad to hear it.” He looked up, smiling. “Thank you, for letting me come.”

Opal sighed, her arms loosening, just a little. “You're still family, dummy.”

He slumped his head. “I don't deserve to be.”

“Maybe not,” Opal shrugged, walking into the room, not directly toward him, but not away, either. “But I think you're stuck with us.”

“Isn't it the other way around?”

“Oh, I don't know. What's the bigger punishment—being kicked out of the family, or having to live with a family that never forgets anything?”

Bataar chuckled. “I see what you mean.”

Opal passed him, looking out the window at their family's home, as he had been. “What was it? What came between you and dad that made you so ready to destroy... all of it?”

He looked away. “It wasn't any one thing, but just... my ideas were always too risky, too untried. We should test them out first, smaller scale, never where anyone could see them. Never where they would do any good. Wing and Wei got their own arena for a sport they made up. You can't turn a corner without busting your head on one of Huan's sculptures.”

“Well, I can,” Opal said. “You're just too tall.”

Was that a smirk she'd offered? “And you... you asked to go train, and they let you. I asked for my own projects and... they became Dad's projects.”

She paced behind him. He turned his head to follow. “Did you never bring this up?”

“Of course I did! I mean... here and there.”

“Did you? Did you say, 'Dad, I want a solo project where you don't override my decisions,' or did you say, 'Dad, maybe, could you perhaps consider doing this idea I had over here, if that's okay...'?”

He straightened his glasses. “I suppose I could have been more... assertive. In fact, that's just what K...”

“Kuvira,” Opal said. She barely even sneered. “You can say her name.”

He closed his eyes, not sure he wanted to. “ _Kuvira_ encouraged me to stick up for myself. She said my mind was being squandered, that I could be ten times the man Dad is, that...” he shook his head. “She said whatever lies she needed, to get her way.” 

“That wasn't a lie,” Opal said, stepping around to the front of his chair. “You always were a smarty-pants, Bataar. Mom and Dad saw it. Dad would've been _thrilled_ to see you putting his work to shame. He just...”

“He's dad,” Bataar said with a shrug. 

They both chuckled.

“You... forgive me, then?” 

“I didn't say that.” 

Bataar nodded, accepting.

“I just... I needed to hear. Maybe, someday, I'll be able to. Part of me wants to try. But I was there when that monster of yours attacked Republic City. All those sailors in the bay. All the workers in Asami's plant. Asami's _father_.” 

He winced. “It was never supposed to be used!” His hands clasped his knees as he leaned forward. “It was supposed to be a deterrent!”

Her eyes narrowed again, turning away.

“Wait,” he pleaded. “I... I was a fool. I let myself believe... I let myself believe we were smarter than everyone. That we knew better. That everyone would act just like we wanted, just like _she_ wanted, because... because...” 

“Because you loved her?” 

“Because I loved her.” Bataar slumped back in his chair, pulling off his glasses to drape an arm over his eyes. “Spirits, Opal... do you have any idea what it does to someone, when the person you love betrays you? When every kind word, every tender moment you ever had, all at once, becomes a lie? A knife in the back?” 

“Not... personally, no. Bataar...”

He moved his arm at her odd tone. Once his glasses were back on, he saw the pensive look on her face. “What is it, Opal?”

“What... Look, you, I might forgive, but Kuvira, never. Don't think I'm at all saying otherwise.” 

“Okay...” 

“But if you _were_ to see her again, what kinds of things could she say to make you maybe, just possibly, consider taking her back?” 

Bataar frowned, leaning forward again, arms crossed on his knees. “What the heck are you talking about?”

“I'm...” she glanced at the guard, watching him from the door, “asking for some friends.” 

Bataar raised an eyebrow at her, but shrugged. “I can't imagine anything. I doubt she ever loved me at all. If she did, and she still fired that shot... It's unthinkable. She... the woman I  _thought_ I was in love with, even if she'd taken the city that day, that shot destroyed her.”

Opal swiveled her head toward him, still halfway to the door. “You sound like you pity her.”

“I pity the woman I knew when we lived here. I wonder, where it was along the way, that she got lost?” 

He looked up as she knelt down, a hand on his arm. Their eyes locked. “We're not a hundred percent. I'm not even sure we're quite to seventy five percent yet.”

Bataar smiled. “Hey, I never thought I'd get above thirty seven point two. That's more than double my most optimistic estimate.”

Opal chuckled, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him. “There's my big dorky brother.”

“I missed you, Opal,” he said, starting to tear up. 

“Welcome home,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Sorry,” she said as she pulled back, pointing toward her throat. “It's been a pretty turbulent day.” 

 

 

***

 

 

Korra, much to her dismay, woke up.

She was in a bed. The curtains were drawn, and dark enough out that she couldn't tell what time it was.

It didn't matter.

She rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head. Something hard and pointy dug into her side—what? She wriggled a hand down to pull it out.

The keys.

Asami was gone.

Her fingers curled around the ring, her hand shaking as she fought back sobs.

She lost that fight.

Korra curled up onto her side, lobbing the keys against the far wall with a shriek, before wrapping herself around a pillow.

Asami was gone.

It was her own fault.

Asami was gone.

She'd driven her away.

Asami was gone.

Korra couldn't blame her.

“Of course you can't,” Asami's voice said. 

Korra looked up through strained eyes. The dark visage was there, rifle still strapped across her back, spinning the keys on her finger.

“Deep down, you had to know this was going to happen. You're too broken.” 

“I got better!” 

“You'll never be 'better',” it said, sauntering across the room. “There _is_ no 'better'. This is you. Forever. But at least you'll always have me.” It winked. 

Korra rolled face down, covering her head with the pillow.

“As if that can block a voice from inside you.” 

“Shut up.” 

“You'll never be stronger than me. You may win your little victories, here or there, but in the end, I'll always win.” 

“Shut up!”

The mattress shifted beside her, as if somebody else were crawling on it. “And you will always...”

Fingers traced up the back of Korra's spine. She trembled. “...lose your battles...”

Warm breath spilled over the back of her neck. She whimpered. No... no...

“...alone.” 

“SHUT UP!” Korra screamed, spinning onto her back and unleashing a gout of flame. 

The room was empty.

Korra scurried to the corner, the keys falling off the bed in her rush. She curled up, her back against the wall, trembling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Yeah, still not terribly cheerful. But then, after that last chapter, how could it be? Everybody needs a chance to catch their breath. 
> 
> Thank you, as always, for reading! I love you all dearly! Especially the commenters--you really make my day! :)


	28. And Then, She Was Gone

_Dear Korra,_

 

_I'm in the Fire Nation. I toured the former sites of my factories._

_You were certainly thorough._

_I'm not sure what I expected, or why I thought this might help me understand._

_The words my people used, describing it to me, were: 'Leveled.' 'Flattened.' 'Destroyed.' 'Unsalvageable.' That one had it closest._

_Now that I've seen it, I can correct them: 'Erased.'_

_Not a shred of metal, not even a recognizable footprint where the foundations used to be._

_How much time did you spend, here, being so thorough?_

_How much pain were you in?_

_Are you out there, hurting, still?_

_I worry. Perhaps I shouldn't. I doubt there's a thing on the planet that could hurt you, so long as you're protecting yourself._

_Are you? I wonder._

_There's rumors about you being in the Earth territories. All I can say for sure is where you're not._

_Do you want me to find you? To track you down?_

_I won't be doing that._

_I know you're hurting, Korra. And I know you don't always make the best decisions when you feel this way. Who does? I've made my share of mistakes._

_But I'm hurting too._

_I'm alone, and I'm hurting too._

_When you come back—if you come back—we have a lot to talk about, obviously. At this point, whatever started this, you're the one continuing it. You're hurting us both._

_I promised I'd give you space, for a few days, whenever you needed it._

_Not weeks. Not months._

_Korra... where have you gone?_

 

_\--Asami_

 

 

***

 

 

Tonraq knocked on Korra's door. “Honey, are you awake?”

No response.

“Can I come in?”

No response.

He sighed. Pema stood nearby—she seemed like a safe, supportive person to have back him up, without having half the wedding guests crowding in the room trying to help too.

“Korra, dear,” Pema said, “it's getting late in the morning. Wouldn't you like some breakfast?”

No response.

“You don't think she's...” Tonraq whispered.

“What, naked?”

“That either! But I meant...”

Pema looked down. “I don't know. When something hits Korra hard, it hits her _hard_. Has she ever tried anything?” 

Tonraq looked at the door. “Korra, we're coming in.”

He turned the knob, but hesitated, taking a breath.

She was in there. She was fine.

Pema touched his shoulder. He shook, not expecting it, but saw the understanding in her eyes.

More prepared, he pushed it open.

The bed was a mess, and there were scorch marks on the ceiling. For a split second, the space between heartbeats, he thought Korra was gone—then he saw her, huddled tight in the corner, unconscious against the wall.

He rushed to her side, as he had so many times. “Korra! Korra, honey?”

She awoke with a start, wide-eyed, trying to back further into the corner. Then she saw him, and threw her arms around his neck, nearly choking him with an embrace.

He hugged her back, but gave Pema a worried glance. This wasn't just heartbreak—Korra was terrified. “Honey, what's wrong?”

Korra just shook her head, allowing Tonraq to stand her up. “I'm going crazy,” she breathed.

“Maybe we should take her to Kya,” Pema suggested.

Korra agreed far faster than he expected. Now, he _was_ worried.

 

 

***

 

 

Mako waited patiently, his hands cuffed to the chair behind him. He worked his way through the lines of questioning he expected, what he thought he might learn in response.

What he did not expect was General Jing himself to show up. He stopped in the door, removing his gloves as he looked at him. “I know you.”

Well. If Jing _was_ involved in the plot, there was no hiding that they knew about it now. “Detective Mako, RCPD.” 

“Republic City? Oh, right, you're Wu's man. So to speak.” 

“So to speak,” Mako agreed. 

Jing sat opposite him, tossing his gloves on the table, crossing one leg over the other. “So... what I'm trying to understand is, if you're already in with the Convention, and you wanted to investigate one of my camps, why wouldn't you tell me? Normally, I might think that Wu was trying something underhanded to erode my support, but he's not experienced enough to be that duplicitous. Though the degree of your success does track with how well he'd do.”

“I wouldn't think lack of duplicity is a bad thing,” Mako said. 

Jing just laughed. “Boy, this is Ba Sing Se! And as somebody who's been working in the shadows himself, I'd think you could appreciate the need for a bit of... delicate, behind the scenes work.”

Ouch. Jing's team advanced a zone with that one. “We're tracking a Red Lotus weapon smuggling plot.”

“Here?” Jing asked, eyebrow raised. “Within my ranks?” 

“Could you think of a better place to hide it? Everyone knows how much you—and your people—hate the RLF.” 

“That's right. Even if one or two of those weasel-rats got into my ranks, _somehow_ , the second any of their fellow soldiers found out...” He snapped his fingers. 

“We're not working off of mere supposition, General. We—can I get out of these cuffs, please?” 

“Why would I want that?” 

“A sign of good faith?” 

“You're a spy. And a firebender, if I recall. So obviously, no. Keep talking.” 

So much for that. “Honestly, when we got Wu to sign that slip, he thought we should ask you too. You know why we didn't?”

“Illuminate me.” 

“We don't trust you. We don't know how loyal you are to Kuvira, how much power you want for yourself... You're savvy and you're capable, and if you don't mean well, the last thing we wanted was to play into your plans.” 

“And what if you're playing into somebody else's plans? Torru is just as savvy and capable, but he has half the country thinking he's a simple man of the people.” 

“He... as I told your corporal, Torru is an ass, and you're right, he's way more clever than he lets on. But I think he's a true believer. He's as much a zealot as Zaheer was.” 

“That makes him even more dangerous,” Jing said. “The ambitious, you can trust to act self-interested.” He set both feet on the floor, laying his hands on the table. “Why don't we back up. Tell me about this supposed plot you've uncovered.” 

Mako could try to lie, or at least, hold some information back. But the fact was, if Jing really was involved and Mako was a threat, he was probably already dead, or at the very least, buried. However, if Jing was, at least, invested in stability...

“You never said whether or not you're still loyal to Kuvira.” 

“No I didn't. Would it matter? You already don't trust me. What would be the point in saying something you couldn't believe anyway?” 

Mako nodded at that, but thought more about something else he'd said: that you can always trust the ambitious to act self-interested. And whatever the RLF was scheming at wasn't something Jing was going to want. “The RLF smuggled some new Future Industries weapons into the city—I think those same rifles you hear about from out in the country. We caught a break and managed to track them, but they got passed off to somebody from this base.”

“You're sure it was this base.” 

“If not, one this base has been trading with.” Mako described the connection with the Fire Whiskey. 

Jing tapped his fingers on the table. “That's... very loose.”

“Four soldiers hung over the next morning from a strong drink too expensive for any of them to buy? Not as loose as it sounds. Go out, check their jeeps—one should have a dented front fender.” 

The general considered. “I know about these weapons out there. Nobody's sure how the RLF has been getting them, but every time we try to buy some from Future Industries, we're rebuffed.”

“Maybe, once you change your uniforms, that'll change. The CEO of that company tends to remember little things, like which people invaded her city and killed her father.” 

“You sound like you know her.” 

“You could say that.” 

He drummed his fingers on the table again.

“As a matter of fact, some of my commanders are so desperate to get the guns, they've resorted to the black market... Which would mean, at the least, they're funding the RLF.” 

“That... doesn't quite track. We saw the RLF talk to a smuggler, then we tracked a go-between to where the smuggler hid the weapons, then your people got them. As far as I can tell, the RLF never even had them, so I'm not sure where their profit would come from.” 

“Brokering the deal?” Jing asked, but shook his head. “This stinks in just the wrong sort of way. Tell you what: I'm going to have _my_ men give this camp a thorough going-over. Whatever's going on, I want to get to the bottom of it.” 

Maybe Jing cleaning house was good enough. “Thanks.”

“Don't mention it,” Jing said, rising. “Wait here, would you?” 

Mako jostled his wrists inside their cuffs, and rolled his eyes as the General left.

 

 

***

 

 

Korra lay with just her head out of the water, as Kya flowed through healing forms. Her father and Pema watched nearby.

Korra bit her lip, letting the water wash over her. “Could... could you guys maybe let me talk to Kya alone for a minute?”

They glanced at each other. The request had to sound odd, but Korra couldn't ask what she needed to if they were listening. Especially not if her father was. “Of course,” he said. “Did you want me to bring you some breakfast, still?”

She couldn't remember the last thing she'd eaten. “Just some rice, sure.”

He nodded, leaning down to brush her hair from her face. “Whatever you need.”

Korra closed her eyes, listening to them go. She drifted for a time, feeling the flow and gentle energy of the healing water.

“So,” Kya asked, “something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yes,” Asami's voice asked. “Was there?”

She opened her eyes with a start. But of course, Asami wasn't there.

Korra swallowed. “I... if I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone? Not my parents, not Tenzin, not Lin...”

“Well... sure. I'm not so good at the listening or advice as my mom is, but I'll do what I can.”

She shivered, eyes still searching the room. “I... if I duck underwater, can you see if...”

“If you can hold your breath?” Kya suggested, an eye brow raised at Korra's pause.

“No... if something's... wrong.”

The waterbender blinked, and stopped moving. “What do you think is wrong?”

I'm hallucinating. I have been for over a year. “I'm... different, than I was before.”

“You went through a lot,” Kya said, pulling a chair beside the tub and straddling it. “Trauma like that changes a person. There's no shame there.”

Shame. “I know, and I thought I had accepted that, but... it's not just how I feel.”

“That's good,” the vision said, stepping out from behind Kya. “Since nobody _cares_ how you feel. They just need a working Avatar. They gave up on Korra long ago.”

“What is it?” Kya asked, looking over her shoulder.

Korra turned away, a tear flowing into the healing water.

Kya sighed. “Look, Korra... I know it's hard right now. But you're not the only person to go through a tough breakup.”

“I'm better off without you, anyway,” Asami said, her arms crossed on the rim of the tub. “But then, you've always known that. It was selfish of you to pretend otherwise.”

“And I won't pretend it gets any easier,” Kya continued. “But... you have years and years ahead of you. Who knows what can happen?”

“Yes, don't lose hope. I'll find someone smart and capable and sane before too long, somebody I can actually be happy with.”

Korra whimpered. “I don't know what's real.”

“You know that you're hurting,” said Kya. “You know she is too, and that hurts you more.”

“You know I got a bunch of people killed,” said Asami. “Made the world more dangerous, and a good profit while doing it.”

“That's not how she is,” Korra hissed.

Asami's chuckle made her skin crawl.

“Korra?” Kya asked.

She turned back toward the healer. “Can you sense if I'm crazy or not?”

Kya blinked, mouth agape. “Um... I mean I can look, but you know I can only sense tissue damage and energy flow. If you think... Korra if you think something's wrong with your mind, I can try to help but you know there's nothing waterbending can do.”

The water sloshed as she nodded.

“You'd better cover,” Asami recommended. “She'll worry, if you don't, and tell everyone. You know you can't trust her, trust has never gotten you anything but pain.”

“I must've been crazy, to think we'd work out,” Korra muttered, staring into the vision's dark eyes. It smiled.

“Oh, Korra, no,” Kya said, reaching into the water to clasp her hand. “That was the least crazy thing you've ever thought. I'm... I know it's painful right now, but I'm not too sure it's even over for good. Asami's a forgiving woman. She forgave her father, didn't she?”

“And it blew up in my face,” Asami answered. Kya ignored her.

Korra closed her eyes. No, Kya couldn't _see_ her—it. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't _real_. 

“I,” she said, forcing the tremble out of her voice, “I think it's time to get me dried off.” 

Kya smiled, squeezing her hand. “Sure thing.”

 

 

***  
  


 

“Stop fleeing us,” Desna called after the rabbit spirit, frustration clear in her voice. “We wish only to commune with you.”

Nuktik put a hand on her shoulder. “I don't think that one is going to cooperate,” he said. Spirit after spirit, Desna had walked up to and demanded information. The spirits were... less than patient with her manner. At best, they were downright unhelpful, but many ran away and one they'd nearly had to fight off.

“Maybe...” Nuktik took a breath. “Maybe let me try the next one? You asked us along to help, after all.”

Desna nodded, frustrated.

They walked for a time, along a stony path, until they reached a wide prairie, with large, lumbering spirits browsing about it.

“Should we give them a shot?” Mom suggested.

Nuktik looked at them. “See how far apart they are? From each other, I mean? Maybe they're pretty solitary. Maybe... you two stay back a little.”

“What if they attack?”

“They don't look dangerous.”

Both women gave him a flat look.

“Right, I know. But... just, jump in if I need it. The spirits aren't used to humans yet, let's not overwhelm them.

Grudgingly, Mom nodded. Nuktik turned, took a deep breath, and approached.

“Excuse me?” Nuktik asked politely, craning his head back. “Spirit? Could we have a moment of your time?”

The spirit had legs taller than a man, but its wide, scaly body had no neck or distinct head. Just a face, in the front of it, right at the level of the trees in the area. “What was that voice?” it asked, stepping in a tight circle.

“Down here,” Nuktik waved, well below the spirit's sight line.

It backed away, then bent its front legs to pivot its face toward the ground. “Oh. A human.”

“Hello,” Nuktik said, waving weakly. He glanced back, saw Mom's encouraging nod. “The three of us are very concerned with making sure humans and spirits get along.”

“Oh. That is good of you. Most humans do not concern themselves with spirits, other than the Avatar.”

“Well, count us as concerned!” Nuktik said, laughing nervously. “We know the solstice is coming up, and a lot of spirits seem to be appearing in a certain place in the material world. Do you know where they're gathering here, to do that? Or why they're all going to that place?”

“Hummm,” the spirit pondered. “We go where we feel the most energy. If spirits are all gathering in once place, it is because they are being pulled there.”

Energy... what sort of energy was in Ba Sing Se? What sorts of energy had taken them to Kuodan? “Do you mean... emotion?”

“Energy,” the spirit agreed. “Do you happen to know the Avatar?”

“We... did meet, yes. That girl over there is the Avatar's cousin. Desna, say hi!”

Desna blinked, then opened her mouth to say something. Nuktik's mom said something to her, and Desna spoke again, this time, raising her voice: “Greetings.”

The spirit had finished lumbering sideways to see them. “Ah. Have you seen the Avatar recently?”

“Um... a few months ago. She's off somewhere, bringing balance to the world.”

“No balance,” the spirit said.

“Yeah, that's what she's trying to fix.”

“No balance, within her. Some of us have seen. We can feel it.”

“Something... something's wrong with the Avatar? With Korra?”

“We can feel her energy, even here.”

Another odd answer. “You can... spirits, in the spirit world, can feel her energy, just like you can feel the energy of certain places. Like the place a lot of spirits are gathering at, before the solstice.”

“True...” the spirit admitted.

“Do you... thank you for being so helpful, by the way. But, do you know what became of Vaatu, after Harmonic Convergence?”

“He went back to where he began,” the spirit answered.

Back to the spirit world. Nuktik gulped. “And, is he following the Avatar's energy? Like we just talked about?”

“He will scarcely let her rest. Will you help her? The Avatar cannot maintain balance in the world if she is kept out of balance herself.”

Nuktik shivered. Things were starting to fall into place—Vaatu wasn't just organizing attacks on the material world, he was still out to destroy the Avatar, too. If she so much as meditated into the Spirit World, Vaatu would be there, waiting to destroy her. “Thank you, spirit. We will do everything we can to help her. Do you know which way we must go?”

“Follow the energy,” it said, simply, giving a kindly, too-wide smile.

Nuktik gave a cordial bow. “Thank you, spirit. You have been of great help.”

“Such a nice human,” the spirit replied, turning away.

Nuktik turned as well, mulling over what he'd been told. They had a better idea of what they were facing—though how they could hope to best the elemental spirit of darkness and chaos was another matter entirely. As for 'follow the energy...'

They'd have to figure it out. They knew the danger was real now, and the Avatar was in danger, too. And the worst thing was, she probably didn't even realize how close the danger was.

 

 

***

 

 

Asami sat on her bed, walking through the breathing exercises Jinora had taught her. It all seemed very basic, long and slow inhalations, a short pause, and equally smooth exhales. She felt her heart beating evenly as she did, twelve times with each breath, which, translated into breaths per minute was—

No, stop. Don't think. The whole point is not to think. Don't analyze your damned breath rate. Don't think.

The two-word demand was far easier said than done. Her mind broiled with ideas at the quietest of times. Even when the slightest thought would, unbidden, bring her a flash of Korra.

Her eyes. Her smile.

Broken, in the wheelchair.

Her laugh. Her scent. The sounds in her throat when they made love.

The look on her face when Asami tore out her heart.

She growled at herself, her heart drumming faster. No, that was the last thing she wanted to think about. She needed to move on. The sooner... the sooner she could move on, the sooner...

The sooner what?

A gentle knock came at her stateroom door. Jinora, perhaps? One of the crew? “Come in.”

Of all the people she knew was in the city, Tonraq was the last she'd expected. “Asami,” he said, a few steps into the room. “I wanted to see how you're doing.”

Her eyes fluttered. Korra's father? Checking on her? “Did she put you up to this?”

Tonraq shook his head. “Korra... no. She has no idea I'm here. And though I know she does care about you and would want to know you're okay, I'm here because _I_ want to be. You've done more for my daughter than I can ever hope to repay. You don't deserve to wallow in this, alone.” 

She suddenly felt very foolish, sitting in the middle of the bed as she was, and uncurled herself and moved to the side of the bed. She stood, but her legs were asleep, and she wobbled.

Tonraq moved quickly to catch her.

“Thanks,” she said, tossing the hair from her face without any pretense to dignity.

“Don't mention it,” he said, backing away as she got her footing. “You know, she talked about you all the time—”

“Tonraq,” she turned away, arms around herself. “I'm sorry, but I... can't talk about your daughter right now.”

“We... felt like we knew you, we heard so much. How hard you work. How brilliant you are. And how lonely. Senna showed me the letters you wrote her, and as much as your concern shone through, we also heard your voice through them as well. I just... wanted you to know that, in spite of whatever is going on right now, we will always consider you family.”

So.

Asami still had tears left to shed.

It was, honestly, a surprise.

She covered her face, shaking her head. “Even after... even after?”

Tonraq put a gentle hand on her shoulder, turning her around and hugging her against him.

“We fell in love with you too, sweetheart. I know how hard this must've been for you.”

“You're not mad?” she looked up, incredulous.

“Mad? No. Only sad, that you lost each other. You both love with so much of yourselves, to see it lost...”

Asami shivered, laying her forehead against his chest. “I have nothing left.”

“That's not true,” he said, rocking her gently. “That's not true.”

She felt Korra's father's arms around her, comforting her as a father should.

Remembered her own father, trying to kill her, dying to save her, gone.

This was the family she could have had, if she and Korra...

...if she and Korra...

“Thank you,” she exhaled, saying goodbye to a future she'd dreamed. She pulled herself from his grip, wiping her face. “I appreciate you coming, Tonraq. I'll still keep in touch.”

“You damned well better,” he said, stepping toward the door. “I know this is hard, but, you two can still be friends, you know. Look at Tenzin and Lin.”

“I... maybe, Tonraq. I don't want to think about it right now.”

“Okay,” he said, nodding, taking another step to the door. “You have eaten something today, right?”

“Tonraq.”

“Just make sure you take care of yourself!” he chuckled, backing out of her stateroom. He hesitated in the door, and she met his gaze. “The world still needs Asami Sato.”

She turned away, nodding. “I'm not going anywhere,” she said.

“Good,” Tonraq said, giving a little wave and finally letting the door close behind him.

Asami slumped onto the bed, head in her hands.

She wasn't going anywhere.

 

 

***

 

 

“Lieutenant, do you know why I am suspicious of good luck?” Kuvira asked, standing in the back seat of her jeep and watching troops parade by.

“I... imagine there could be many reasons, Ma'am.”

She gave him a wry look—not a smile. She couldn't think of the last time she'd truly done that. “You can't plan for it. You can't factor it in or expect it to happen. It wasn't earned.”

The lieutenant crossed his arms on the steering wheel. “Well, it might be we didn't do anything to earn the good luck, but the bad decisions the other guy made certainly helped tip the balance. So you could say we earned it, if only by being more competent than them.”

Kuvira nodded quietly.

Ten thousand troops.

Just as her campaign against the Red Lotus was grinding to a halt, she found an entire army of her own troops, armed and provisioned by the United Republic, scouring the countryside for supplies so they could 'stop warlords and bandits.' How stripping the country bare to do it separated them from what they were fighting was beyond her.

Within hours of running across one of Kuvira's divisions, the troops had revolted against their Republican minders and defected back to her.

Ten thousand fresh, trained soldiers.

This wasn't a stalemate anymore.

“Ma'am, if I may ask... what's our next move?”

She took a breath, but didn't answer. He could find out when the rest of the army did. This advantage was real and immediate, but it was temporary. The enemy forces were growing more proficient with every engagement, and in their home areas, they had the support of the population, willing to feed and provision them, allowing them to evaporate into the fields whenever Kuvira's forces came close.

There was only one way to deal with that, really.

“Tell me, Lieutenant. The Red Lotus, all the territory they have taken... what do you think of them?”

“They're the enemy, ma'am.”

“I don't want to know your orders. I want to know what _you_ think of them. Are they a danger?” 

“Ma'am? Well... they overthrow every tradition, they don't respect borders or treaties...”

“You can say the same of us.” 

“The towns that oppose them suffer greatly.” 

“Also something our armies have done.” 

The lieutenant fidgeted in his seat. “I'm not sure what you'd like me to say, Ma'am.”

Neither was she.

Right now, this moment, she had the forces she needed to wipe out the Red Lotus, forever. She would be reviled for it, her name cast down through generations as the greatest butcher since Ozai. But her name didn't matter.

What mattered was, would allowing the Red Lotus insurrection be more, or less, devastating than the amount of killing it would take to truly stamp it out?

“They have no leader,” Kuvira said. “Nobody we can negotiate with. Yet they insist on trying to expand their influence, sway more and more areas. We can't precisely wall them off. We could conquer the territory, splitting off garrisons as we go, but that would leach away our forces as well as being unsustainable.” 

“So... what, then?” 

She already knew the answer to that. The exigencies of war. Brutal mathematics.

“Drive me back to the command tent. I have orders to write.”

 

***

 

 

Korra groaned as the blind woman dragged her down a corridor. “Toph, I don't want to spar right now. I'm having an awful day.”

“Then it's the perfect time to knock the stuffing out of someone! Besides, sound travels really well through the metal floors here and I'm tired of hearing you mope.”

She rolled her eyes. It would probably be best just to humor her—and she did have a point. Getting up and moving might be good too. Working up a sweat, getting her blood moving, helped calm the mind.

“Ah, here we are,” she said, bending open a door open and throwing Korra into a small gym. She stumbled to a stop, then froze.

Asami was there. At least, she thought she was—she was wearing gloves, next to a swinging punching bag, and wore a shocked look as real and tangible as Korra's own.

“You two have fun,” Toph said. “I'm just going to wait by the door while you work your crap out.”

“Toph, wait—” Korra said, turning, as the door slammed in front of her. She pushed against it, but Toph just metalbent it back before she'd moved it an inch. “Toph! This is idiotic! And childish! You can't just shut us in here!”

Korra sighed, feeling Asami's eyes on her back. Asami did always like her back...

She turned to face her, shrugging helplessly. “I could bend us out, but we'd just end up fighting her until we've done what she wants.”

Asami blinked, pulling her eyes away. She nodded, and delivered a jab to the punching bag. “Is she always like that?”

“As far as I can tell,” Korra said, looping her thumbs under her pelt, shifting in place.

“Korra, you can come over here. It's not like... it's not like we're not still friends.”

Isn't it, though? Still, standing so far away was awkward, and Asami... her hair tied back in a loose pony tail, a sweaty tank top over loose pants, the look of concentration in her eye as she spun on one leg and kicked the bag, level with her head...

Korra needed to find something else to look at. “Are you... I mean... okay, Asami, what do we even talk about?”

“What do you want to talk about?”

Us. She shrugged. “What've you been up to, the last few months?”

Asami snorted, muttering something.

Korra could guess what. “Just because I was gone, doesn't mean I didn't care.”

“Doesn't it?” She hit the bag head on—not usually her style, but Korra definitely understood.

Korra moved over to the bag, bracing it in place. Asami continued to punch it, repeatedly. At just the height of Korra's face.

“It's not like I didn't miss you...”

Another kick, sending Korra back a step. “You said everything you needed to.” Punch. “Nothing.”

“Okay.” Korra grit her teeth. “You're mad. And you're right to be, I get that. I should've handled this all way differently. But you know what? That doesn't change the fact that you're inventing _weapons_.” 

Asami walked away. Was she avoiding the conversation?

Far from it. “You want to talk?” She threw a pair of gloves and a padded helmet at Korra, then took a helmet of her own. “Let's talk.”

Korra looked at the helmet in her hands. “This isn't a good idea.”

“It will be when I'm kicking your head in a minute,” Asami said, pulling off her boots. 

Korra sat on the ground, following suit. They'd sparred often, but rarely so seriously as to use pads. She didn't want to hurt her—but that it was too late for that, wasn't it?

Besides, she knew well enough that Asami was well-capable of delivering punishment of her own. Especially if Korra kept getting distracted by looking at her...

This fight, where they were emotionally, was a nightmare, but there was something about Asami seething that was way hotter than Korra wanted to admit.

Asami stepped onto the pad behind her, loosening her shoulders. Korra stood, strapping the padding over her head and tightening the gloves, shaking those thoughts away and reframing Asami's body as a threat to be countered. She circled around her, stretching as well, looking at her opponent, at the woman she loved. Asami looked back, tense, ready. What did she see?

Korra raised her fists, still a ways away. “Rifles, Asami. What the hell?”

Asami charged in low, one leg out to sweep Korra's away. She'd expected it, leaping back—but of course, Asami had anticipated Korra's response, and was already springing to intercept, a fist careening toward her chin. Korra just barely knocked it out of the way.

The engineer landed lightly, sliding to a stop. “You lost the chance to be self-righteous five months ago. Besides, I've always built weapons. You didn't seem too concerned when I was selling them to your father.”

Korra probed with a left, then a right. Asami blocked both easily, her guard up. “That was different.”

Asami held back, watching for an opening. “Why? Because it was family? Because it was an active civil war, where they would certainly have been used? You think mecha tanks would do less damage than rifles?”

“Because... my father wouldn't have used them on civilians.” Right probe, left feint, then a kick at her legs. Asami stepped away from it, but barely got her hands in the way of the punch Korra was setting up. She let the momentum of it carry her back, then leapt at Korra, slapping a hand out to push Korra's away and grab at her neck. Korra ducked in time, elbowing Asami's back as she passed. 

Asami grunted, landed, a scowl on her face. She caught her breath. “And I was supposed to know Izumi would?”

“You didn't see the dead!” 

“I can't control how people use my inventions, Korra!” She nodded toward the door. “Am I supposed to blame Toph, for my dad's death? She invented the metalbending Kuvira used.” 

“That's not the same.” 

“That's exactly the same!” Korra bounded out of the way of the sudden rush, but it was a feint so Asami could pivot and kick her in the gut. Korra landed on a foot, a knee, and a hand, eyes on Asami all the while, but she wasn't in position to press further. 

Korra got back to her feet. “It's not, and you know it's not.”

Asami's eyes narrowed as they began circling each other again. “What do you mean?”

“You never told me about them. You had every opportunity, but you deliberately avoided the subject, any time we got near it.” 

Asami bounded forward again, angled low like before. Korra pushed through her instinct to protect against the same attack she'd just followed through with, raising her knee straight into Asami's chin.

The taller woman flew back, sprawling on the mat for a moment, shaking her head.

Korra gasped, at her side immediately. “You okay?”

“Been better,” she said, raising a hand toward Korra. 

Korra helped her up, looking her in the eyes. She was determined, and furious, but not at all dazed.

They backed away from each other, circling again. “Maybe I didn't know how you'd react.”

“So, you kept a secret.” 

“Not... it's not a secret if it's not something you need to know.” 

“The Avatar doesn't need to know about new weapons?” 

Asami came in again, precise and careful. Korra backpedaled, blocking a quick hit then a solid kick. She swatted at Asami's leg a moment late as they disengaged.

“You weren't likely to run into them.”

Korra stopped, one hand on her hip, the other pointing at her. “C'mon, Asami. That's weak.”

Asami sprang at her, grabbing at the pointing arm. She had plenty of time to pull the arm out of the way, leaving Asami a little surprised when it was still there. Korra saw the grapple coming and read the intended throw, and instead of trying to block it, took tight hold of Asami midway.

She jerked to a stop midair, and both of them wound up in a tangled pile on the floor.

“Ow,” Asami groaned, rolling onto her side. “What the heck was that?”

“Yeah, not sure what I was trying to accomplish there.”

They got back to their feet, Korra stepping away and taking a moment to crack her back. “You used a rifle on that gangster, didn't you? The one that killed your mother.”

“Chh—” Asami looked away. “I nearly told you then. You wouldn't let me. You kept reassuring me I wasn't terrible, that I wasn't a killer.”

“I didn't think you were.”

Asami resumed a fighting stance. “Do you now?”

“No more than Toph is,” Korra admitted, raising her fists and rushing in quickly. “What—” she punched, got blocked “happened to him?”

Asami backed away, light on her feet, but not attacking. “He'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”

Korra grunted, relaxing her stance a little. “At least... at least it was a bad guy, this time.”

A ragged breath came from the other woman, then her posture firmed up. She raised a hand, flexing it toward herself, beckoning.

Korra resumed circling. “You're the smartest person I know, Asami. You had to know these things would have consequences.”

“Things haven't worked out like I wanted,” she admitted, giving no ground, shifting her feet just enough to keep Korra in front of her. “I _wanted_ to give non-benders a way to compete. I _wanted_ to take the onus of fighting out of benders' hands. I thought...” 

Korra charged, feinting then going for a punch to Asami's side. Asami stepped around Korra's leg, whip quick, and before Korra knew it she was on the ground in an arm lock.

She tapped the pad, and Asami let go at once, letting her roll over, then helping her up. “You wanted to level the playing field,” Korra asked.

Asami nodded.

“Because benders have too much advantage. You thought non-benders should have a way to kill them.” 

“To _fight_ them, Korra. To not always be at benders' mercy. How can we have a truly equal society if part of it really is that much _better_?” 

“Equal?” Korra said, almost unable to believe she'd heard it. “You wanted to make benders and non-benders more _equal_?” 

“I know who I sound like!” 

Both of them attacked at once, Korra's massive uppercut glancing off Asami's helmet while Asami's flurry of side jabs knocked the breath out of her. Korra managed to bring her elbow down hard enough to force Asami away, give herself time to recover.

“I know _just_ who I sound like,” Asami repeated, her eyes narrowed. “And I never forgave him, not for that, not for tearing our family apart, not for tearing the city apart in his hate. But the Equalists _had a point_ , Korra. Whatever their awful tactics, in spite of who Amon actually was. They had a point.” 

Korra nodded, raising her fists again. “So you made the rifles so we'd all be equally vulnerable. I'm not sure that's the best kind of equality, Asami.”

“Maybe not,” Asami growled, her own arms raised, too. They were getting shaky—Korra didn't know how long Asami had been working out before she got here, but she was clearly running out of gas. “That's the best I could do. And that wasn't the only reason. That wasn't even the biggest.” 

“What was?” 

“I thought, if the nations of the world could solve their own problems, they wouldn't need the Avatar to do it for them.” 

“Oh, so this is my fault now?” 

Asami gave her an incredulous look. “How did you get that from what I said?”

“You invented these damned rifles because of me.” 

“That's not _remotely_ what I said!” 

“It's true, though, isn't it? On some level, I'm the reason you made them. To take my job away!” 

“I...” Asami sighed, turning away. 

Was the sparring over then? Or...

“I never told you the moment I knew I loved you. The moment I knew that losing you would...” She exhaled, giving a weak shrug. 

She stepped toward her. “No, you didn't.”

Asami's breath came raggedly. She looked up, at the electric lights, as she composed her thoughts. “It was Zaheer.”

For a moment, Korra stopped. “Zaheer.”

Asami nodded, back still toward her. “When he took you, and I thought, really had to face the thought that I might never see you again, it was like... like hearing all those horrible, hateful things my father said to me, when we fought. When he betrayed me. It was as if my entire gut was contracting, like I couldn't fathom existing in a world that cruel.”

Asami wrapped her arms around herself, craning her neck away. “But specifically, specifically Korra, there was a moment where I stood there, on the ground with all the airbenders you'd given your life to save, looking up in the sky after you'd unleashed the most terrifying display of raw power I've ever seen, and it still wasn't enough. He had you. He had you on your knees, unable to move, a sphere of air circling around your head as he prepared to rip the life out of you, and there I was,  _useless_ !” 

Korra touched her shoulder.

Asami spun, swatting her hand away. “Useless!” A flurry of jabs came right for Korra's face, Asami screaming low as she rained blow after blow against her.

It took Korra a moment to get her gloves up, and another to regather her bearings. This wasn't Asami's normal, precision attack—she'd be on the mat if it was. This was Asami exploding.

Korra ducked to the side, grabbed one of Asami's arms. The other woman started to struggle, but Korra got behind her, caught her other arm, and pinned them both behind her.

She struggled for a moment, then slumped. “He was killing you, Korra. Murdering you. Right there. Right above me. And I couldn't do a thing. That's the moment I knew. The moment I was about to lose you, I knew I was already lost. Everything I did after that,  _everything_ ...” she shook her head. “It was all for you. And you still left.” 

“I left to do Avatar business. I left to stop those maniacs in Kuodan from killing everyone with your great equalizers.” 

“That's not my fault!” Asami snapped, wresting herself free. She turned and rushed right at her, eyes glistening. Korra did the one thing Asami was _never_ prepared for, particularly from her—she rushed back, just as fast. “And fine, you've got problems with the rifles, we can have it out. But you _stayed away_!” 

“I didn't know what to say!” 

Asami charged again, closing the distance in spite of Korra's retreat. “You broke my heart, Korra!”

“You—” Korra bounded forward in a sudden instant, wrapping her arms beneath Asami's, sending them both sailing onto the mat in an uncontrolled mess. “You broke my heart first,” she said, holding Asami tight against her. “All of this, making these damned guns, hiding them from me...” she swallowed hard, unwilling to let go of her. Even with all the anger, with all the hurt, she had Asami in her arms, and she was terrified of letting go. “You were so perfect,” she whispered. “You were supposed to be perfect...” 

A grimace crossed Asami's face. She stopped struggling, instead gently pushing Korra away, exiting the fight. She sat up, peeling off the gloves, then the helmet. “You were supposed to be the one person who knew I wasn't.” She got to her feet, walking—with a slight limp—to put the padding away.

Korra had managed to sit up. “Asami, that's not what I meant...”

“Yes it is,” she said, picking up her things. She paused beside her as she crossed the mat. “I'm sorry I couldn't be what you needed.” 

Korra sat, still and exhausted, afraid to watch her go. She stayed that way for a long while after.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to my alphas and betas for quality control and to all my readers here for sticking with this angst-fest! I have a tough school week ahead so I hope there's some positive reactions to this one! :)


	29. Decisions

_Dear Korra,_

 

_Some of my board members want me to step down._

_Four years I've been dealing with this. Four years, they've known better, told me I was leading Future Industries to ruin, that I was too young. I'll still be 'too young' until the moment the last of them dies of old age, from the sound of it._

_I'm not stepping down, of course. I've poured my life into this company—now it really is all I have left of my family. Dad's dead, and you're gone._

_I'm not sure why I'm even writing this. I just... got used to telling you about things. Who else do I have to talk to? Nobody else even tries to understand—they're all so busy. I can't blame them. But you're gone._

_I suppose, for a moment, I can write, and pretend. But that's dangerous, isn't it?_

_Before, all those letters I wrote, I wanted to stay in touch with you. Wanted to give you a degree of normalcy. Wanted to be a part of your life, in some small way. Because you needed someone. Because I already loved you. Because some part of me hoped, if I stayed in your mind, that you would come to love me too._

_I thought you had._

_These letters... what am I waiting for, now? If you answered, after this long, what could you say? I've been desperate to hear what you think, how you feel—but the more time passes, the more I realize, this is you telling me._

_I'm not sure what I could say to make you change your mind._

_I'm not sure, day by day, whether I even should._

 

_Be Safe,_

 

_Asami_

 

 

***

 

 

“We have to go back!” Tsu Ying repeated, pacing a hole in Wu's carpet.

“He knew what he was doing,” Shu said, tilted back in a chair and half-napping in the corner.

“Yeah, making sure we got away so we could go back and rescue him!”

Wing stepped into the room, without so much as a knock. It was his room, of course, but she was so used to the simple security measure that she'd nearly pulled her knife. “General Jing isn't here. He left a couple of hours ago.”

“A couple hours ago?” Wei asked, glancing away from the window.

“Yeah, that's what I said!”

“Just before we got here?” Tsu Ying asked.

“Just after his people caught Mako,” Shu said, scratching his stupid little mustache. She aught to go over there and pull it straight off for how calm he was acting!

“He's going to be okay,” Wu said, sitting on the bed, his hands worrying each other. “Right?”

“Of course he is,” Wing said, taking Wu's hand and patting the back of it.

“Oh good,” Wu said, instantly placated.

Wing was barely paying attention, looking at his twin. “What're you looking at, out there?”

“Big crowd on the steps,” Wei said. “Lots of Red Lotus stuff, but isn't Torru usually doing his rounds right now?”

“He is,” Wing frowned, looking out the window. “Can't see who's talking...”

“Oh, it's probably Rong,” Wu said.

“The student from back home?” Wei asked.

“He has been talking more and more,” Wing mused.

“Who cares!” Tsu Ying snapped, waving her arms about. “Mako! Captured! Us! Rescue! How!”

“Don't you think he'd want us to keep tabs on what's going on in the city?” Wei pointed out.

“Mako does always put others above himself,” Wu said, clutching his hands together.

Tsu Ying scowled at him. Worry about your own man, Wu, let me worry about mine. “Keep tabs, sure, but what are the five of us supposed to do about it? Rescuing Mako is something we can actually _do_.”

“By now, Jing knows who he is,” Shu said. “He might try to use him as leverage over Wu, but he's certainly not going to hurt him. Not while the rest of us know he has him, at least.”

“That _is_ a really big crowd,” Wing said. “Even if you take out all the spirits... I swear it's looking more and more like Republic City every day.”

“Yes, yes, that's great,” Tsu Ying said, tapping her foot. “We should at least _plan_ on how to respond if Jing does pull that! We can't just let Mako languish in a cell and hope things work out! Do you _know_ what happens to cops in prison?”

“I'm curious as to how _you_ do,” Mako said, through the door.

Tsu Ying's eyes widened, as did her sudden smile. She rushed to the door, her hand on the knob, then stopped. “Who's there?”

“It's Mako.” He sounded annoyed.

“How can I know that, though?”

The door muffled his response, but if he hadn't rolled his eyes she'd eat her shoes.

One knock, three quick, one-two more.

Tsu Ying yanked open the door. “Really?” he asked.

She threw her arms around him, kissing him off-balance. She caught him with one arm, grabbed the door jam with the other to keep them both upright. He chuckled into her throat, kissing her back.

“I had to maintain operational security,” she explained, resting her forehead against his wonderfully scratchy chin.

His fingers pressed into her hair, at the base of her braid. “Well, that was a thorough check. You'd have done the same for Shu though, right?”

Shu's snort was loud enough to be heard in the hallway.

“We... have our own ritual,” she said, glaring at him while leading Mako into the room. “What _happened_ though? How are you out?”

“General Jing and I had a talk. He decided it was a good idea to investigate the camp himself.”

“He found the weapons?” Wing asked.

Mako shook his head. “No... and he also didn't find three of his soldiers, whose bunkmates were too drunk off of Fire Whiskey to have noticed.”

Wing and Wei both laughed the same way at the same time. Wu looked between them, unsettled.

“Word's being spread to every garrison, and Jing was... visibly displeased with the behavior of his men. I imagine he's taking measures to make sure any other sympathetic troops wouldn't dare help hide them.” He took Tsu Ying's hands. “I think we can trust him, at least on this. Which means, if we hurry, we can catch the last airship to Zaofu.”

Zaofu. She'd get to meet his family—and report to her commanding officer. That might be complicated. Except... “Mako... these soldiers who got the guns, even if they acted alone—heck, especially if they acted alone—they got them for a reason.”

“Yeah...”

“And now they're under pressure and don't have much time to use them...”

The color drained from Mako's face. “Oh no...”

“Did Jing say anything about who these guys were?” Shu asked.

Mako shook his head. “I didn't get dossiers or anything. They were among his most loyal, which has him really shaken up. The commander said she couldn't imagine those three in particular working for Torru, they loathe the RLF.”

“It's... it's all a big trick!” Wu said.

“What do you mean?”

“It's just like the attack on Wing. They found somebody who didn't like what we're doing and made them hate us enough to actually attack him.”

“Making the Empire faction look worse in the process,” Mako said.

Tsu Ying's eyes went wide, and she rushed to the window. “You said Rong's been giving speeches while Torru is doing his rounds?” The crowd on the palace steps was nearly as large it had been the day Torru had tried to get himself arrested, six months ago. His plan hadn't worked, but he'd gained more power through it anyhow.

“Yeah,” Wing said. “He'd been in the background before, but suddenly he's been speaking out a lot. I wouldn't have thought they'd want to split their supporters' attention.”

“He's... no,” Mako said, understanding and horror dawning across his face. “He wouldn't go that far.”

“He's trying to same ploy again?” Tsu Ying said. “Only, instead of being arrested here with a crowd he brought, he'll get himself killed out where he has the most support.”

Mako joined her at the window, a hand on her shoulder as he looked out. “And a chosen successor already in place by the palace with his most fervent followers.”

“That's insane, though!” Wei said.

“Did you ever talk to the guy?” Wu asked. “He's old and he really believes this stuff. If he thought giving up his life would help his cause...”

Tsu Ying turned, Mako's hand tracing along her back as she did. She placed her hand on his, staring into his eyes. “We need to save Torru.”

A look of resolve crossed his face. “If it's not already too late.”

 

 

***

 

 

Desna walked behind Caluqtiq and Nuktik. The walk was arduous, the weather on the horizon looked foul, their supplies were dull and flavorless, the scent of a bog wafted over the breeze, and she'd never been happier. She missed her sister, and was terrified of seeing her again, but Nuktik and Caluqtiq...

Was this what family was supposed to be?

Nuktik was pointing to something at the top of the ridge ahead. They spoke quietly, her hand on his back. “You've been doing great so far. We'll wait here.”

Nuktik smiled, then took off up the hill.

Desna took Nuktik's place beside his mother. She glanced down at her, then returned to watching her son.

“May I ask a question of you?”

“Of course,” Caluqtiq replied.

“What of your husband, and your daughters?”

She sighed. “I send letters to my daughters, still. Sometimes, they write back. Nuktik was the youngest, and Nukoda doted on all of his daughters.” She took a breath, shaking her head. “I should've pushed back more, when he pushed the girls to be healers, and cooks, and seamstresses...”

“Are those not all important things?” Desna said. “Noble, even?”

“That's what I told myself. I was comfortable enough in it, even if Nukoda and I enjoyed sparring, when we were younger. But... when Nuktik told me, who he was, what he needed to do, how important it was to him... it was hard, for me, but I loved him. That came first. For his father... I'd thought, maybe he'd be proud to finally have the son he wanted. Instead, he turned the girls against us.”

Desna saw her frown, and tilted her head. “I did not mean to upset you.”

Caluqtiq smiled, dabbing the corner of her eye as it began to rain. “No, it's fine. It's... what you're going through is difficult, but I remember Nuktik's face, after I cut his hair and let him dress how he wanted the first time, and... I couldn't tell him no, after that. Never. Others, they'll still try. Probably they'll never stop.”

“At least he got to keep one parent,” Desna said. “You... you are twice the parental figure than I ever had. I... once thought my father was a great and wise man. I once thought—”

Caluqtiq put a hand on her shoulder. “We learn.”

Desna looked away. “Father never did. And I fear that Mother never will.”

She gave Desna's shoulder a squeeze. “Maybe not. But I realized—no, they _showed_ me, that people who refuse to learn, people who would destroy their families rather than rethink their assumptions... they aren't worth having in your life, whatever bonds of history or blood there may be.”

“It... is not so simple as that.”

“I know,” Caluqtiq said. “Are... you fully at peace with your father's death? Even knowing who he truly was...”

Desna chuckled, surprising herself with the sound. “You tell me that it is fine to distance yourself from family if they are wrong, then ask about my father who literally tried to destroy the world. If anyone deserves to have their family abandon him, it was Unalaq.”

Caluqtiq nodded. “And like you said, it's not so simple as that. You spent your whole life trying to be what you thought he wanted. Right?”

Desna touched the clips in her hair. “That is true. He... wanted a proper heir, and attempted to make a man of me. Eska, at least, put herself through everything I was forced into. Eventually, he resigned himself to who we were.”

“And you resigned yourself to who you thought you had to be.”

Desna nodded, rain droplets trailing down her cheek.

Caluqtiq wiped them away with her thumb. “You don't need to be that person, anymore.”

“But... Mother—”

“Will accept you if she has any desire to be a part of her child's life.”

“The tribe—”

“At worst, will shun you and replace you. I won't pretend that's not a possibility. But I've seen you, listening to advisers, governing... you seem to loathe it.”

“I loathe everything.”

“Do you loathe me and Nuktik?”

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“You don't need to put on this front. Not here.”

“I... shall, when we return.”

“Desna, if we return having helped save the world, you can be whoever you want. And if the tribe still doesn't want you, you don't need _them_. They certainly don't deserve you sacrificing yourself for their sake.”

“I... it wouldn't be sacrificing myself.”

“Wouldn't it?”

Desna found herself shivering. The shift in weather suited her mood. “I've... I've always at least had Eska, with me. What if she doesn't...”

“Eska asked us to come and help you.”

“But... she's only co-chief because I insisted on it. If they decide to get rid of me—”

“Then the Northern Water Tribe will have made a foolish decision. Not to mention, earned the personal ire of the Avatar, the Southern Water Tribe, and the Air Nation—I'll make sure of that.”

Just a little, Desna smiled.

“Um...” Nuktik said, returning. “...do you two realize it's raining on you?”

“It is beginning to diminish,” Desna said, holding her hand out to catch it.

“Right... but it's _only_ been raining on you.

Desna and Caluqtiq blinked at each other, looking at the dry ground starting a few paces away in each direction. Caluqtiq laughed. “Well that's an odd thing.”

Desna grabbed her arm. “No. That is a response. The Spirit World was responding to our discussion.”

“What were you talking about?” Nuktik asked.

The chief shook her head. “No, it was responding to what we _felt_.”

“Felt?” Nuktik looked up. “I knew the Spirit World could be finicky, but—”

“Energy,” Caluqtiq breathed. “Spirits are made up of spiritual energy. They respond to our emotions, even turning into dark spirits if there's too much negativity, because they can sense the sort of energy we're giving off.”

“So... if I become sufficiently despondent, the dark spirits shall abandon Ba Sing Se and come to us?” Desna asked. Then, she laughed.

The other two looked at each other, then back at her. “That was... a joke, then?” Nuktik asked.

“Yes. Could you not tell from my riotous laughter?”

“...that was laughter?”

Eska would've thought it was funny.

“Nuktik,” Caluqtiq scolded, covering her mouth. “Perhaps we can discuss it later. But I was rather more thinking, if dark emotions impact the spirit world, and the spirits are gathering where those emotions are strongest...” she nodded toward the horizon, where it seemed a storm had been brewing.

Somehow, it looked even darker than it had been before.

“Then let us go into the darkness,” Desna said. “This time, at least, I will be on the correct side.”

“We're right there with you,” Nuktik smiled.

The rain above her stopped.

 

 

***

 

 

Why did people even need weddings, anyway?

After all, Su's own mother had never married. Everyone knew Opal and Bolin loved each other, and were good for each other. Was there really the need to sacrifice Suyin's sanity for the sake of a ceremony? She'd raised her family not to put too much stock in tradition for tradition's sake. Clearly, this was all an elaborate and petty form of revenge for... something.

“No!” she shouted at the benders rearranging the courtyard where the wedding was to take place. “The pathway needs to be aligned east-to-west, not west-to-east! Toward the sunset!”

The worker looked at the path, then to his compass, then back to the path. “Aren't... those the same thing? It's a path.”

“Yes, but... you're aligning the head of the path the wrong way. See how you made it wider?”

“That's the open area for the wedding party.”

“Then... it's not big enough!”

“You said you wanted the first row to start here—”

“Yes, so expand the back of it then!”

“Out over the fountain?”

“I don't know! Use steps or something, we can cram more people in that way!”

“Mom,” Opal asked behind her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes I'm fine!” Suyin snapped, entirely not fine.

“Alright...” her daughter said skeptically. “Because, you missed the dress fitting...”

“Oh, _damn_!”

“It went alright,” Opal reassured her.

“Yes, but I was supposed to... damn!” She looked over Opal's shoulder. “You! With the chairs! Why don't they match!?”

“Mom,” Opal chuckled, “they're _just_ chairs.”

“And you're _just_ my daughter and this is _just_ your wedding and everything is going to be _just_ perfect if people would just... yes, yes that's fine, put them in separate rows!”

Opal grabbed her arm. “Okay, Mom. We're walking away now.”

“Opal, I'm busy.”

“No, you're rampaging. You're more high strung than Aunt Lin. Especially these days...”

Su stood stock still. “Oh Spirits, you're right!”

“Come on,” Opal chuckled, dragging Su inside. “Everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing. At least give them a chance to finish before you criticize.”

“Let us just stop by my office for a moment,” Su said as they stepped into an elevator, punching the button for it.

“Mother...”

“Just a few minutes! I won't even deal with the wedding, I still have a city to run and all the fighting to keep track of. Something's happening with Kuvira's army, I want to keep tabs on...”

They reached the office, and found Bolin on the phone. “But... is he okay?”

Opal and Su looked at each other, stepping in.

He saw them, and put the receiver against his chest. “It's Wu. Apparently Mako and the twins can't come on account of they're spies.”

“Spies?” Su and Opal looked at each other.

“Uh-huh,” Bolin said into the phone. “Uh-huh. Yeah could you clarify that spy thing? Uh-huh. Got it.” The receiver went back against his chest. “Only Wei is the spy, Wingie-poo is still representing Zaofu.”

“Wingie-poo?” Opal snickered.

“His words,” Bolin clarified, bringing the phone back to his mouth. “Hold on, Wu. Yeah, I got the fact that he got out, but is he on his way yet?”

Opal's hands clenched against Su's arms.

“On his way to rescue _who_? Is that person in Zaofu?... on the _way_ to Zaofu?”

“Honey...?” Su asked, touching Opal's hand.

Opal charged into the office, dragging Suyin with her. “You're not saying he's going to miss the wedding!” she growled.

Bolin's hand began to shake. “Wu, I hear what you're saying, and I'm sure it's very important, but... As bad as after your Aunt was killed. Huh. That _is_ really important.”

Su took her daughter's hand. “Opal—”

“Just a few days,” she said, through gritted teeth. “Things couldn't be calm for just a few days.”

“Apparently, not _these_ few days.” She stepped around the table, taking the phone from Bolin. “Wu, this is Suyin.”

“Oh! Hello.”

“What's this you're saying about things getting bad again in Ba Sing Se?”

 

 

***

 

 

Asami was sore in muscles she couldn't even identify. But as she lay in her bath in her stateroom, trying to soak away any bruises her sparring session with Korra had given her, she nursed other wounds as well.

Several of Korra's verbal hits had landed too. And those stung all the worse.

How blind _had_ she been? Lin had tried to warn her. _Varrick_ had tried to warn her. But she was so sure she could keep it under control, so sure the consequences could be kept within reasonable limits...

She'd never told Korra. Everything else, she could explain away, everything else, she had an answer for.

But she'd never told Korra.

Argue as she might that she had no reason to tell her, that it had all started when Korra was gone and she didn't need to tell her girlfriend everything that happened at Future Industries... she also knew she'd deliberately avoided it.

On some level, she'd made that decision.

What scared her most was, she didn't remember making it.

Everything she'd ever done had been considered, had been reasoned. Even her reactions to surprising things, in a way, had been thought out ahead of time—surprised as she was by her father's betrayal, she'd long before committed herself to justice, and her father had taken himself out of that equation.

She closed her eyes, submerging herself, as if she could wash the thought away. One painful subject was more than she could handle as it was, no need to dredge up her father again. She'd dealt with that. No reason to keep thinking of it.

Hiding the guns from Korra, though...

Lin had asked right away.

Asami pushed herself back above water, wobbling her face enough to keep her hair out of her eyes. She needed to see clearly, after all.

Why had she hidden it?

She wasn't ashamed of it, was she?

Future Industries had built weapons for most of her life. Since she was a little girl at least.

Since her mother had died.

Spirits, had she really just realized this? That her father had only taken the company in that direction after his wife's murder? Had he been looking for revenge against benders, even then? Was that just a way to test them?

Was she carrying on his legacy? Not that of the man who had died to save the city and his daughter, but the man who had tried to kill her in his thirst for vengeance? Who had hidden all his plans, oh so carefully, that even the person closest to him didn't suspect?

No, no this was different. Definitely different.

Besides, Korra had still left her. Knowing just how much that would hurt her, she'd left.

She'd expected too much of her. Asami tried to be perfect, tried so hard, but no matter how close she got... they always left. Dad, Mako...

Even if Korra hadn't left, hadn't meant to leave, had only left because of something Asami had done... it was only a matter of time. She would have left eventually. This only proved it. Better to leave it over.

Wasn't it?

Or was this another decision she'd already made, and didn't remember making?

How many of those were there?

A knock came on her door. Asami groaned, half wanting to dive back beneath the water. She'd retreated back to her airship so she could sulk in peace, why couldn't people give her that? “Who is it?”

“Radio message, Ma'am,” someone called back through the door. “You wanted to know when we got through to Tenni at HQ. It turns out, she isn't there.”

Asami was in a robe with her hair wrapped in a towel and at the door in less than a minute. “What?”

“Tenni is not at the main office. Nobody seems to know where she is, other than she took a sudden leave and requisitioned a biplane and a pilot.”

Asami blinked. “What on Earth is she doing?”

“Um... we don't know, Ma'am. She left Kaeri and Huo in charge of things and assured them she'd be back as fast as she could, but that's it.”

She nodded slowly, clasping her robe tight. “Thank you.”

The messenger nodded, and managed to get himself as far away from her door as he could without breaking into an actual run.

The door closed and latched behind her, Asami sat back on the edge of the tub. Tenni was incredibly capable, and had detailed information about everything Future Industries was doing. More than that, she was _dependable—_ or so Asami had thought.

Where had she gone?

Or was she leaving, too?

Had someone given her a better offer? Was she taking all of Asami's secrets to a competitor?

Or was she simply tired of working for a woman younger than her who spent all her time mooning over the Avatar?

Shivering, Asami reached into the still-warm water, and pulled open the drain. She watched the water swirl around it, stray dark hairs snaking through the water before being sucked into the darkness, the tub emptying and emptying until finally, there was nothing left.

 

 

***

 

 

“So, Lin!” Toph said, barging into Lin's room.

“Oh hell!” Lin said, scrambling away from Kya where they were tangled together on the couch.

Kya laughed, catching Lin's leg and tripping her back onto herself. “It's not like she doesn't know. Your mom's the biggest busybody in the world. I don't think anyone even got to her with a wedding invitation, she just showed up.”

“Well, I figured, the swamp's not a friendly place anymore, after Kuvira hacked it up. Tends to react badly to strangers. Didn't want any hapless messengers getting hurt coming to get me. Especially since people send their kids to do that sort of thing. Really, what was Tenzin thinking?”

“Yes great that's all great,” Lin said, straightening her shirt. “Very thoughtful of you!”

“Yeah, I thought so,” Toph said, moving around the couch then plopping down between them. Kya rolled her eyes, leaving an arm around Toph's back, her fingers twined with Lin's. “And speaking of how much of a busybody I am, I've got news for you, too.”

“Ugh. You wouldn't come out of your way like this if it was good news,” Lin said, glad for Kya's touch, and careful to keep it just far enough away from her mother that she couldn't feel it. “Well, out with it.”

Toph sighed, turning to face her. Lin leaned back—her mother turning toward her to speak was a rare social nicety, and built up her sense of dread. She made it worse by reaching up and touching Lin's cheek. “Raiko fired you. You're no longer the chief of police.”

Kya gasped. Lin just felt...

Honestly, she felt... lighter.

Not happy, no of course not that. She'd built her whole life around that job. Losing it was still a defeat, a failure.

But at the same time, being free of it...

“Wow,” Kya breathed, looking at her over Toph's head. “Lin... you're okay with this?”

“I... actually, I think I am. At least I don't have to rush back to the city after the wedding.”

“Nah, you still should,” Toph said. “There's still a bunch of dummies somebody needs to deal with, and now that you're not Chief, you're even more free to act.”

“Free to act? Sure, for all the good it does. I won't have any authority.”

“Your _name_ has authority!” Toph said, poking her chest.

“You mean, _your_ name.”

“I know what I said and I meant it. If—Kya, stop making moony faces at my daughter while I'm talking! It's distracting her!”

Blind or no, Toph was right. Kya looked startled, mouthing 'How did she know that?'

Lin shrugged as her mother resumed: “Look, if I thought the city needed Toph Beifong right now, I'd charge in there and Toph the heck out of it. It doesn't. You've given your life to that city, Lin, not just as Chief, but on the beat, and in protecting Tenzin and Korra. You're _respected_ . Heck, being fired by a fool like Raiko may actually make you _more_ respected. I'm just a weird old swamp witch at this point.”

“No,” Kya said, waving her free hand loosely. “I mean, nobody really thinks that. Chh. No.”

Toph arched an eyebrow. “You know I'm fine with you sleeping with my daughter? You don't need to butter me up.”

Kya gave a laugh, meeting Lin's eyes with a look that said 'Your mom's nuts.' Lin was in no place to disagree.

“But, the thing is,” Toph began, then pushed herself off the couch with a growl. “Look, Lin, you know I've never been good with this touchy-feely crap.”

“Yeah, that isn't exactly a revelation I'll be alerting the media over.”

“Aha! That!” She pointed at her daughter. “Alerting the media is what got you fired, and you _knew_ that it could. And everyone in the media did too. That's why you have the respect of the city. And.... that's why...”

“Oh _spirits sake_ ,” Kya said, standing up and grabbing Toph's shoulders. “Can't you just say you're proud of your daughter, woman!?”

“I could still break you in half.”

“Oh, Mom, cut your crap,” Lin said, rubbing her temples.

Toph turned toward her, eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”

“I said, cut your crap. Your posturing, your pretend detachment. I only ever wanted to talk straight to you, but for some reason you always twist it around! Heck, I only ever became a cop in the first place because of you!”

“Yeah, I'd kinda figured that out a long time before you had.”

“Lin...” Kya said, staring at her.

She'd... never said that thought aloud before. Never acknowledged it. But now that it was in the open... “So yeah, Mom, it's great that you're 'fine with' our relationship, or that you think I've earned myself a reputation. Whatever. But what's it going to take for you to talk straight with me?”

“I've always talked straight with you, Lin! You just refuse to listen!”

“Stop!” Kya shouted. “The two of you, I swear, I've never seen two people's auras so out of whack with what they were saying. Do I need to translate?”

“Pah,” Toph said, waving the thought away.

One look at Kya showed that she was serious. And more, for the first time, Lin might not only get a better idea of what her mother was thinking... but she'd have somebody on her side, too. “I'm game if you are, Mom.”

“I—”

“I don't care!” Kya interrupted her. “Lin has only _ever_ wanted your approval. Not your shrugging support of whatever she does, not hands-off acceptance. She wants to know you're _proud_ of her! She deserves to know that! Because I've been watching her my whole life, and I'm proud to even _know_ your daughter, much less to be in a relationship with her, even if I do have to wrestle with the severe case of emotional constipation _you_ gave her!”

Toph's mouth was gaping as she had her head turned away.

Kya's tone softened. “And I also know that... you haven't told her how proud you are because you don't think you have the words to. Because you've built up this image of yourself in your own head as somebody who doesn't say these things, like the other person should just know it. So tell her, you old toad-bat! You were brave enough to fight the Fire Nation, strong enough to tackle the streets of Republic City. What sort of challenge is a few words!?”

Toph turned away, hands clasped behind her.

Lin turned toward her girlfriend, wide-eyed. “Kya...”

The waterbender glided toward her, taking her hand. “Later,” she mouthed.

“I'm...” Toph said, “...disappointed. In myself. In our relationship. In... I'm old, Lin. I don't mind that I'm alone, I don't mind that the world is passing me by, turning me into some sort of stupid legend. What I hate though, the one regret I have is... us. I only ever wanted my girls to be happy. Even if it took me being miserable, I wanted you two to be happy. And it seemed like, everything I tried, only made things worse. I...” Toph took a long breath. “I wasn't the mother you needed. And I'm sorry, for that.”

Lin felt herself trembling. Kya's hands held both of hers, kept her from wiping her eyes. “Mom...”

Toph laughed, her back still toward them. “You know, I hadn't intended to say any of that, coming in here. You've got quite the catch there, Lin. Are you... please, just tell me you're happy.”

Lin clutched Kya's hands back. “You know... I think, maybe, I am.”

“Well, good then!” Toph said, turning toward the door. “Guess my work here is done—”

“Mom,” Lin rushed. “You... still haven't said what you think about me. Losing my job. Everything.”

She finally turned toward her, a smirk on her face. “You got fired for telling off the president. Lin, I've _never_ been prouder.”

Kya smiled, pulling Lin close. “Awww! See, you two! See how easy this was? In fact, I think I feel a hug coming on—”

“Not likely,” Lin interrupted just as Toph snapped, “Don't push it.”

Kya rolled her eyes, leaning back on the couch. “Beifongs, I swear...”

“Hey,” Toph chucked. “We're your problem now, honey. Get used to it.”

 

 

***

 

 

Korra had found another high point to hide on and look over the valley, and the city, and the armed camp. Whether or not Opal or the Air Kids could get to her, at least she was remote enough that she'd know they were coming. She had a clear view of everything, and she was alone.

Mostly.

The illusory Asami was with her, laying flat near the edge of the rocky shelf, sighting along her rifle at the city. “You'd be surprised how far I can be accurate with this. But then again, maybe you wouldn't be, since I'm so perfect.”

Korra sighed, leaning back against the mountainside, one arm half-covering her eyes. Just seeing the rifle out made her nervous, but she kept telling herself—it's not real. This Asami isn't real. She can't hurt anyone, and, unfortunately, Korra couldn't hurt her.

She'd done a fine job on the real one, though.

“It's for the best,” the vision said. “Either my heart will mend itself eventually, and I won't set myself up for failure like I did, dating a disaster like you. Or my heart will harden and I'll get used to being unloved. I _am_ awfully productive that way. All the world benefits from my suffering.”

The rifle _cracked_ , and Korra jerked, a brief vision of Kuodan flashing in front of her.

Asami smirked. “Twitchy one, aren't you? I wonder who I hit.”

“You didn't hit anybody!” Korra snapped, sitting forward.

“You sure? The city is well within my range. Those riflemen in Kuodan had nothing on my precision, after all.”

Korra faced the mountainside, controlling her breathing.

That sparring match—she'd been able to say a lot of what had kept her away so long. A few of her points had struck home, she knew, but Asami had still come out on top.

How was that? Yes, Korra staying away was wrong, but that hadn't gotten people killed. Asami's invention had killed dozens in Kuodan at least, and who knew how many more across the Earth territories now?

“Oh, they'd all be dead one way or another anyway. Leaders have oppressed their own people with swords and spears for centuries. And perhaps the bloodletting on the continent will help stave off a famine that would kill far more. At the very least, if Kuvira's troops and the Red Lotus forces annihilate each other, that problem solves itself, doesn't it? Cold numbers.”

Korra closed her eyes, remembering Asami's confession in the spirit world, that she would've let Jinora die rather than risk freeing Vaatu. That's the same words she'd used then. Cold numbers. She'd been scared to say it, afraid Korra would judge her, would be horrified at the thought. And she had been—the fatal logic of it all.

But Asami—the real Asami—had trembled. Right or wrong, she'd never have forgiven herself for it.

Korra opened her eyes. “That's not who she is.”

“Why, because I'm perfect?”

“No. Because she's kind. I've never seen anyone more willing to throw themselves into danger, no matter how overmatched she was, to help somebody who needed it.”

“That's just arrogance.”

“Confidence, maybe,” Korra said, refusing to let herself be distracted. Not now. Not when something felt close, so close...

She thought of Asami—her Asami, the real Asami. How she'd fought the Equalists, how she'd been arrested protecting civilians. How she'd given Mako and Bolin a place to stay, and then later done it again for their entire family. How she'd taught a whole tribe of spirits how to get the food that was always out of reach. How she'd gone straight to Pema, after Tenzin was hurt, to comfort her. All the spaces she'd built for the poor and the needy, all the philanthropy...

“Asami isn't perfect,” Korra said, turning toward the vision, “but... she's still the most loving person I've ever known. Everyone always compliments her pretty face or her enormous brain, but her heart... her caring, aching heart, that's the true core of her. That's the real Asami. _That's_ the woman I love.”

The vision sneered. “What about this then?” it asked, holding the rifle out.

Korra airbent herself forward, snatching it from the hallucination's hands, rolling with it, then snapping it in half across her knee.

It vanished into the nothing it had always been.

“I love her,” Korra said, standing. “I'll always love her, whatever happens.”

“I'll never love you again,” the vision snapped. “Not after you hurt me. Not after you broke the heart you so admire! I gave you everything I had left, and you threw it away like it was nothing.”

“I know,” Korra admitted. “I know I messed up. But I know I can get better. And I know she's strong enough to survive this. Even if we're never together again, I know she'll be okay. She'll find someone who deserves her. Someone who treats her better.”

“Someone else?”

“Maybe.” She grabbed her glider, and stood. “Or maybe just a better me.”

The vision cackled, sounding less and less like the real Asami each time she did. “Why bother? You'll just mess it up again, like you always do.”

Korra paused at the edge of the outcropping. “Of course I will. I'm only human. Just like her.”

She dove off the ledge, opening the glider on the way down before her mind gave the vision another word.

 

 

***

 

 

Torru went about his walk the same way he always had.

The crowds that had thronged him the first few weeks had diminished—some were back listening to Rong's speech, he knew. A good man, Rong, and a lucky find. Far more energy than Torru had left in him. More than capable of carrying things along.

Some of the crowds, of course, had lost interest, going back to their workaday lives, scraping about for spare grains of rice, especially now that all these spirits were about, eating food from stalls and pantries, moving things about to strike their fancy, being a general nuisance. Enough to get the people more agitated. Torru never liked seeing people suffer, but if it made them more likely to answer when their friends who still followed him called...

He'd have to trust that it would.

Torru smiled, giving his ratty coat to a woman who had somehow lived longer than he had. She thanked him profusely, a tear in her eye. He smiled, patting her hand. Before long, one of his other followers would offer him a new coat, and he could give that one away too. He wouldn't be surprised if he had taken and given the same coat several times over the course of things.

The crowd knew none of that. They only knew that the only help they ever got came from each other—Torru included, of course. The politicians always tried to get in the way, take what they hadn't earned to help someone else who already had plenty. Because the people here, below, couldn't fight back.

Only, they had. Not quite four years ago, they'd torn down a kingdom that had lasted centuries. The government here—if it could be called that—would be far easier to topple, and this time, _this_ time, the crowd wouldn't be quelled so easily.

All it would need was a spark.

He continued on his walk, allowing people in the crowd to help him, acting as he always had. It was hard, not knowing just when the spark would be struck. Did he linger with the folks he spoke to regularly? Keeping to his schedule was important, after all. But they were hard-working folks, ones he liked...

Did he let the little children come up to him? Make the same promises he always did?

Part of him thought, yes. If they got caught with him, the conflagration that came after would have an unstoppable wrath behind it.

Another part—the greater part, in truth—shuddered at the idea, and found quick reasons to send the children away.

The fact that he was even thinking such things...

Torru was weary. Tired. So, so tired. He had been when all of this had started, of course—it was that weariness that made the Red Lotus message so attractive to him. But spreading the message was no escape.

Perhaps it was good that people would be turning to somebody else soon.

Noise came from the back of the crowd, a slight fracas. He turned, to see what it was, but it was only the Republic City firebender and his nuisance squad. Odd, to have all of them here at once. Perhaps, he should invite them to talk?

A terrible series of _crack!_ s pierced the air, as shrieks and blood erupted all about.

The spark had landed.

And, damn it all, he wasn't even hit!

Torru spun around, dumbly, looking for where it came from. People were running every which way. The firebender—Mako, wasn't it?—was pointing, and shouting, trying to force his way through the panicked crowd.

He held his arms out, stepping toward the riflemen. One of them had jammed their weapon trying to reload it. Another seemed scared to even be holding the thing.

The third pointed the barrel right at Torru's chest.

He closed his eyes.

It was quick.

 


	30. What She Thinks of Herself

_Dear Korra,_

 

_Everyone keeps stopping by to talk to me._

_Asking if I'm okay. If I've heard the latest news about you, if I know anything more than the papers. Every one of them reminds me that I don't._

_We've got everybody out of the camps who wants to be, now—you'd be interested to know that. The people that preferred the camp, for whatever reason, we've managed to move into a consolidated part of it. I have people interviewing them, finding out why they find the model appealing. As slapdash as the whole evacuation was, it was a fascinating experiment in civil engineering, and we've learned a lot from it for building new neighborhoods._

_I also got my first look at the street names for New Downtown. Specifically, the main thoroughfare. I'm sure, when you convinced the city planners to name it 'Asami Sato Way,' that it was merely one of your sweet and ridiculous gestures. I think, of how I might have responded, if we were still... us._

_Now? Now I don't know how to feel. I don't even want to._

_I've been calling it Main Street._

_It's coming along well._

_Maybe, you'll get to see it before it's built._

_At this point, how would I know?_

 

 

_***_

 

 

“General Kuvira?”

She woke at the sound of her name, having slept through countless miles of jerky road. She uncrossed her arms, straightening in the seat.

Zaofu rose above them as her lieutenant drove the jeep on toward it. Kuvira looked at the sky, judging the hour. “You made good time, lieutenant. Good work.”

“Thank you, General.”

She wasn't a president any more, not an empress. 'General' was the closest title she could accept. “Take us into the camp.”

She had just enough time to stretch her joints and down some of their travel rations before they arrived. The scouts and sentries were doing a fine job, because General Nyota was waiting for her outside the command tent. “General.”

“General,” nodded back, stepping out of the jeep. “How quickly can you break camp?”

“By midday,” he answered quickly, motioning her into the tent. “New orders?”

Kuvira sighed. “Yes. Give the pull-out order, then we shall consult as they work.”

Nyota nodded. “Right away. You may wish to know that the Avatar is in the city.”

Kuvira raised an eyebrow. “Is she now?” Korra would almost certainly tell her to stop, if she spoke with her. The Avatar's empathic methods were a fine ideal, but they would not defeat a movement. The Red Lotus could not be reasoned with, or impressed by some act of courage and sacrifice.

It could only be wiped out.

“The Avatar may not appreciate where we are going,” Kuvira said. “We must see our final campaign through, for the good of the world. Eventually, she may understand.”

“Is it safe to say that we are no longer to treat her orders as superseding yours?”

“That is correct,” Kuvira said, staring at the map on Nyota's desk. “Why _is_ the Avatar here?”

“A wedding,” Nyota said, pausing in the doorway. “Bolin and Opal Beifong.”

She turned, mouth open a little. “I... see. They should do well, together. Surprising, they would hold it here, so close to the front.”

Nyota stood in the doorway, tapping his knuckles on the wooden support above him. “Perhaps. Kuvira...”

“You have orders to give.”

“Bataar is here, too.”

“My Bataar?” Kuvira murmured.

Nyota nodded.

Kuvira turned her back to him. “Unexpected. He's been freed?”

“No. He's on temporary parole for the wedding. A peace gesture, they say.”

Intelligent move. She wondered who had given Raiko the idea.

“Are you going to try to see him?” Nyota asked.

Kuvira walked to his desk, examining the maps. “Distribute the order, General.”

She heard the tent flap close, and let herself lean down on the desk. Her Bataar, back home, if even for a little while. Where they'd met, as simpler people in a simpler time.

That was the past. The past was, at best, a lesson. To be learned from, not revisited.

However much it may still hurt.

 

 

***

 

 

Ba Sing Se was in flames.

Again.

How a city made of stone had so much to burn, Mako wasn't sure, but there wasn't much he could do about it, other than extinguishing the fires he came across—when the mobs would let him, and the armed soldiers they'd failed to stop weren't trying to pick him off.

All in all, this wasn't turning out to be a great day for anyone.

They'd managed to get to the Middle ring before word of Torru's assassination spread. There was already smoke rising from the Upper Ring, too, the smell of burning wood and cloth and flesh wafting through the air.

He turned to Tsu Ying, to reassure himself she was there. Her face was resolved, but there was a painful echo in her eyes. Another city that she couldn't protect.

Mako took her hand, guiding her and the rest of the group toward a wall, then turning grimly toward the palace. “Whatever's happening up there, we're too late to stop it.”

“At least it can't get any worse,” Wei said.

Mako and Shu both snapped their attention to him eyes wide. “Why would you even say something so stupid?” Shu asked.

Something snarled on the roof above them, then leaped into the street. A spirit, with six legs, three whipping tails, and a shadowy glow, landed in a slide, then turned to face them.

Tsu Ying punched Wei in the shoulder. “This is your fault.”

Mako took a protective stance. Where was Korra when he needed her?

 

 

***

 

 

“Everything's ruined!” Opal quailed, wrapping Su in her arms.

“Our wedding is cursed!” Bolin wept, hugging her from the other side.

Suyin's eyebrows twitched. Her mother guffawed from across the room, and her sister shared a smirk.

“You two could help, you know,” she snapped at them.

“Nah, you're way better at hugs than we ever were,” Toph said.

Huan brooding in the corner, perked up. “Well, maybe you could help me then. My art feels stymied, and I'm deeply restless about—”

Toph raised a palm at him. “Nobody cares about your crap right now, Huan. Get in line.”

“Ahh!” he squawked.

“Okay,” Su said, pushing Opal and Bolin off of her. “First of all, hug each other, would you?”

They did, both still sniffling.

“Second of all...” she took a breath. “Planning a wedding this big in so short a time was bound to have problems. So I need you guys to figure out now, knowing that Mako and the twins aren't going to make it and that there's no way to know how Korra and Asami will interact with each other, plus whatever's going on with the troops breaking camp... it might be best, at this point to consider postponing the wedding. And maybe not using it as a maneuver to help your friends?”

“It've been okay if it worked,” Opal sulked.

“At least it got me a chance to see you,” Bolin said.

Opal hummed happily, kissing him just below the eye. “Why don't you stay? Republic City has plenty of benders to keep rebuilding it.”

“Um... well yeah of course it does. But there were, um...”

“Bolin...”

“There's some producers who want me to start acting again!”

“You aren't—”

Su raised her finger between them. “Argue in a moment. Wedding. Are we postponing it?”

They looked at each other, pulling each other into a hug as Su pulled back her hand. “Postpone it,” they said together. Then kissed.

Suyin smiled, then turned and clapped her hands together. “Well! That certainly takes a lot off my plate. Now I can get back to running the city.”

One of her guards arrived. “Suyin. Word from the camp is, Kuvira's ordered them to move out. But nobody knows where to.”

“When did they get the order?”

“Kuvira arrived less than an hour ago.”

“Wait, she's here?” Su blinked. “And she didn't send me a messenger of her own... double the guard around Junior, just in case. Make sure everyone is on alert, but make no provocation.”

“Of course. Should we—”

The telephone rang.

“Ugh—just a moment.” The guard nodded that he'd wait as she answered. “Suyin.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Wu said over the phone, and Suyin braced herself for nonsense. “You've gotta help us, Suyin!”

Mhm. Did the Convention need a new color scheme? “What is it?”

“There's been another uprising! The Red Lotus leader assassinated himself and now there's spirits attacking everywhere!”

Suyin was still. “What do you mean?”

“I mean everything's on fire and the Red Lotus people are everywhere and I'm not sure how long I can even stay on the line!”

The matriarch of Zaofu gave a slow nod. Maybe this was what Kuvira was reacting to? But no, it was just happening now, there's no way she could know about it. “I'll get there as soon as I can.”

“With help?”

Suyin looked at the powerful benders in the room, glanced at the seating chart for the wedding that had just been canceled.

“Oh yes. I think help can be arranged.”

 

 

***

 

 

“What's all the ruckus about?” Bataar asked, as an extra pair of guards posted themselves by his window.

“Just a precaution,” his father said, stepping into the room behind them.

“Father,” he breathed, rising slightly out of his chair.

Bataar Senior pulled up a chair of his own sitting across from his son, but not looking at him. They'd spoken, briefly, on the airship ride over, but had found little to say. Little they were willing to, at least.

Junior sighed—just being in a room with the man made him feel smaller. “A precaution against what?”

Father looked out the window. “Kuvira's army is moving. We can't have them busting you out.”

He snorted. “She tried to kill me. I doubt she has any interest in helping me escape, especially since the world has apparently decided to let her roam free.”

“She murdered ten guards when she escaped, son. We haven't forgiven that, much less everything you two did together. But it's not like Su had much choice, when Kuvira relieved the city.”

He leaned forward, chin on his hands, staring at his father. “What _did_ she ask for in return? She couldn't possibly have just wanted to camp here. And she had to know she couldn't be forgiven everything, either.”

“You would know better than me, son.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Why do you ask?”

“I'm... concerned we gave away too much.”

“You're including yourself in Zaofu's 'we', again, then?”

Bataar Junior sighed. “This is still my home. I—”

“Is it?”

Wince. “I... suppose I deserve that.”

Father looked at him skeptically. “What I don't understand is, why didn't she retake the city six months ago? She already took our platinum, yes, but we're also the third richest city in the world. Why would she just stay here with a knife to our throats this whole time, instead of taking over?”

“Is that why you came here? To ask me what Kuvira is up to?”

“I'm trying to understand—”

“And you want me to do the work for you? Now it does feel like home.”

“Bataar, enough. Whatever problem you have with me, I'm willing to address it, but you have to be willing to, too.”

“Chh.” His eyes found the floor.

“Now... if you really want to help, if you really want to get past the damage you did while with Kuvira, you'll help us keep her from doing any more.”

Bataar crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair. Father sounded so reasonable— _always_ so reasonable.

But then, it had been Kuvira who'd convinced him that was a problem.

“She's got room to operate again,” he said, not looking at his father. “The other powers aren't hunting her down or anything. She and Mother have problems, obviously, but she believes in what Zaofu stands for. She would've made this her capital, even if Republic City and Ba Sing Se are both far larger. She... maybe I don't deserve to call this place home, but Zaofu _made_ her.”

“She... doesn't strike me as the sentimental type, son.”

Bataar remembered the flash of light, the terrible thrumming sound of the spirit beam. “No. At least, not when it gets in the way of what she wants. Wait, is she actually _here_? Is that why there's more guards?”

“She's here, long enough to take her army,” Father said. “We're watching it close, to make sure she doesn't pull anything, but at least it won't be looming over our heads, anymore.”

The engineer leaned forward, running his hands through his hair. “This is her base, her primary staging area. She'd only pull out if she needed all her forces for something.”

“Obviously. But what?”

“It's not like I'm well-informed on world affairs,” Junior joked. “But it must be serious. She didn't even do that when she attacked Republic City. Whatever she's planning... Spirits, whatever she's planning, she doesn't intend to come back from it.”

“You think she's suicidal?”

“I think... she's beyond caring about her own life. If... if she was ever even a tenth the woman I thought she was, if she ever had any regard for me at all, she killed that part of herself during the attack on Republic City. She believes in the cause above her own happiness—it's not a big step to say she values the cause above her own life.”

“And what _is_ her cause?”

“Peace. Stability. I... I have no idea where she'd go to fight, what she wants, but if she hasn't told Mother, she knows it's something she and the other world leaders won't agree with. Not that they'd trust a word she says again, anyway...”

“Do you think you could find out? If we took you to her?”

“Sir—” one of the guards interrupted. Father raised his hand to block the objection.

“I... don't think so. She'd see it for what it was, be on her guard.”

“Do you want to see her?”

He met his father's eyes, really met them, and for the first time in years, saw concern there. Attention, love. Family.

“I'm not even sure what I would say.”

Father scooted his chair forward, putting his hand on his son's. “I don't think you're the one that needs to explain yourself. Not to her.”

Junior chuckled. “Perhaps not.”

 

 

***

 

 

Asami set down the radio, leaning back in thought. That Tenni had left so suddenly was shocking in itself, and the fact that nobody had been able to track her maybe shouldn't be—she was a capable woman, after all, and knew the company as well as anyone.

The fact that Asami had no idea why, had seen no warning, may even have misjudged her loyalty...

She had people crawling all over the mansion, making sure nothing was missing. But what could she have copied? What had she had access to, during the move?

Tenni had been with the company since her father's time—surely, there was something else going on. Maybe she'd just... found a boyfriend or something. Ran off. How exciting would that be?

And how unlike her.

“Um...” a voice came from the hatch. She turned, but already knew it was Korra. Her eyes were shadowed, and her clothes looked like she'd slept in them. A few times. “Hi.”

Asami sighed, turning back to the radio. “Hi, Korra. What's up?”

“Actually... a lot. Have you not heard, over the radio?”

“I've been communicating with my people back home.”

“Is there a problem with the company?”

“It's... I'm not sure,” she sighed.

“You... you can still talk to me.”

“What's the problem you came about?”

Korra's pause was barely long enough to notice. Her face was grim. “Ba Sing Se is in revolt again, and spirits are rampaging too. Only this time, we have some of the most powerful benders in the world at the ready and a state-of-the-art airship. I was wondering—”

“I can be ready to leave in an hour,” Asami said, setting the equipment aside.

“Just like that?”

“Of course. Korra—this is an emergency. I'm not going to withhold my help just because of our... disagreement.”

She swallowed. “Good. I mean, I didn't think you would, but—”

“Korra,” Asami said firmly. “Go get everyone. I'll put my crew to work.”

Korra nodded. “I know you can't move an army, but I'll see if that's what Kuvira is here to deal with, too.”

“Kuvira's _here_?”

Korra had a way of wincing that reached all the way down to her fingers. “Uh, yeah. She's grabbing her whole army. She hasn't come into the city though.”

Asami stepped around Korra, already thinking through what that could mean. “Go get the others,” she said. “The ship'll be ready.”

“The ship?” Korra asked. “What about you?”

She sighed, met Korra's eyes for just a moment. “I'll let you know.”

They parted, Korra jogging back out to the city while Asami went to the command deck. She told the captain to prepare the ship for departure, then went to the navigator's station and pulled out a map.

 

 

***

 

 

Kuvira saw Suyin's jeep coming, and had been expecting it. She was standing up inside hers, watching her soldiers break camp, all in good order. Zaofu itself rose behind them, its luster dimmed by the cloudy skies.

“Kuvira,” Suyin asked, barely restraining her contempt as her own jeep settled. “Come to pick up what you left?”

“Su,” she acknowledged. “I believe you should be capable of maintaining order in this area without my help any longer.”

“Mhm. Are you going to say that you only left these troops here to maintain stability?”

“You _had_ just been attacked by a large army.”

“Half of which you folded into your own.”

“The soldiers had to go somewhere,” Kuvira shrugged. “All these years of fighting, we've created so many of them. I don't believe there have been so many soldiers active in the world since the Hundred Year War. It's a hard thing, to expect them to go back to farming, or to find simple work in the cities.”

“I'm sure we could find something.”

“As a matter of fact... I'm sure you could. It's the other states and leaders that I'm more worried about.”

“Ah, the great woman of the people!”

“That was always my goal.”

“Tell that to the guards you murdered.”

“How many more of your guards would have died had I not saved your city?”

Suyin cracked her knuckles.

Kuvira sighed. “I'm sure you did not come out here to exchange barbs or reminisce about our favorite dance moves. What would you like of me?”

Su bit back another retort, and looked in the same direction Kuvira was. At the troops, and the city behind them. The city where Kuvira had grown up. Where she'd met Bataar. He was there, now, somewhere. In chains, or at least a cell. Because of her.

“Where are you taking them?” asked Su.

“Where else?” Kuvira asked. “To war.”

“Yes, but _where_?”

Kuvira shrugged.

“Ba Sing Se?”

“Has something happened there?”

“It's in revolt again.”

Kuvira gave a bitter laugh. “Who might have anticipated that.”

“Your own people started it, from what I hear. At the very least, they're participating.”

“I don't have any people in Ba Sing Se anymore, whatever you may think. General Jing declared himself his own man.” No matter what she'd offered him. A few of his colonels might be interested, but getting messages to them unnoticed had proven difficult.

She turned to Su, arching an eyebrow. A habit she knew she'd picked up from her old patron. “What is it you're asking for, Suyin? Do you honestly want me to lead an army to subdue the city? Again?”

Su ground her teeth. “No. I want to know if your army is going to stab me in the back if _I_ go to Ba Sing Se, or if you're going to go off and do something even more abominable.”

Kuvira laughed, first in surprise, then in true, honest mirth. “You are taking your forces to Ba Sing Se. Now?! I guess we finally have discovered what it takes to change the great Suyin Beifong's mind. Four years of war was enough for you to swallow your pride and do what must be done, is it?”

“I'm still not going to take over the country.”

Kuvira snorted. “You're going to be taking that role, whether you want it or not. Though I wonder who would follow a woman who takes her forces on such an adventure, with somebody else's army deep in her own territory.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It's a quandary. We could always declare an alliance—”

“For the last time, Kuvira, I'm not going to align myself with a warlord.”

“And there you go, tripping on your principles again.”

“At least I _have_ principles.”

“Ah yes. Scathing.”

Su sniffed, turning away to stew for a moment. Kuvira waited, knowing that Suyin was mulling over what they'd said, little bits of logic percolating through her anger. She need only wait.

Sure enough, after a few minutes and half a battalion had passed, Su spoke again. “I misspoke. You do have principles. Twisted and destructive principles, and nothing else. What ever became of that promising young woman I used to know?”

“Disappointment,” Kuvira said. “The time for 'promising' is long past. Now all I have is resolve. As to what guarantee you have that I won't move against Zaofu, you have the knowledge that I could have done so at any time over the last six months, but have allowed you to rebuild your defenses and reinforce. I imagine you have a full compliment of those rifles, and weeks worth of ammunition?”

Su knew better than to reply, but she didn't need to.

“Then you have nothing to worry about from me.”

Suyin crossed her arms. “Perhaps I don't. But somebody else clearly does.”

Kuvira shrugged a shoulder. Suyin might be able to figure it out, in enough time. But with Ba Sing Se distracting her, Kuvira would be razing every inch of Red Lotus territory before she could do a thing about it.

“I'm leaving a strong defensive force.”

“As well you should.”

“The world won't let you build another empire.”

“I haven't taken any territory that didn't beg my forces to stay.”

“Mnf.” Suyin said, eyes narrowed.

Kuvira ignored her. There was little Suyin could do at this point—even if she stopped Kuvira here, the orders she'd given the greater bulk of her army still stood, and they'd start in just a few days.

“Is there anything else you'd like to say to me?” Kuvira asked. “Any other questions? Unresolved issues? Blame you can pass to me?”

Su sat back down in her jeep. “Let's go,” she told the driver.

“Safe travels,” Kuvira said, not watching as Suyin drove off.

 

 

***

 

 

Wing peered around the corner, watching a small cadre of guards rushing away in the distance—whether toward or away from the fighting, it was hard to say. Definitely they were too far away to call to, and that many wouldn't be much help if the mob found them anyway.

Something touched his shoulder, and he nearly leaped out of his skin. “Wu!” he hissed. “What are you doing here? Why aren't you with the others?”

“They were getting nervous.”

“Everyone's nervous, Wu! There's a coup going on!”

“I know! I hope the people of Ba Sing Se haven't developed a taste for it.”

Wing took a deep breath, taking Wu by the hand and leading him back toward where they'd been hiding with a couple dozen of the delegates. “Look, you're the one who led everyone up here. They're looking to you for leadership. Just like in Republic City, remember that?”

Wu nodded. “I was scared out of my mind, then.”

“But you kept your head, and you lead the civilians to safety. With... singing but we're not going to do that, right?”

Wu shook his head firmly from side to side.

Something clanged in the hallway. Wing pulled Wu behind a pillar, one hand covering his mouth, just to be safe.

The tense moment turned into a tense minute. Footsteps and voices began to sound, getting closer. Whoever it was was making their way toward the two of them.

Wing let Wu go, putting a finger over his lips. “We need to get to the others,” he said, low. “I know and typically love how excitable you are, but you need to keep quiet.”

“Even if there's some badger moles that can help us out?”

Wing's eye twitched. “Ask me first.”

“O—”

Wing put his finger to Wu's lips, shaking his head.

Wu smiled, giving a thumbs-up.

Wing took a breath, slipping out of his shoes so he could 'see' around the corner. He didn't much like the idea of walking around barefoot when there could be shattered glass and other debris all over, but right now, information was key. Most of the rioters were exhausting themselves in the cavernous central hall, and hadn't turned their attention to the warren of rooms and galleries where the palace's staff and most of the court had lived. Four stories above ground, who knew how many below?

He caught Wu pinching his nose, staring at Wing's bare feet. Wing scowled, but Wu gave another thumbs up—with the hand not pinching his nose. Wing just shook his head.

How had _this_ happened? When had he become the hero? He'd left Zaofu to help Mako track down a fugitive—and more because his mother had wanted him and Wei to be safe. Now he was a target of a city's worth of fired-up anarchists, protecting another target that he cared about and another twenty or so they were both somehow responsible for...

He crept into a hallway, cavernous, echoing with the rumbles and shouts from the city outside, eerily empty. Even the sound of whoever else was on the floor had stopped—which made him all the more nervous. “If we can find, I don't know, a column or something wide enough to tunnel down, I can get us out of here quietly.”

Wu tapped his shoulder, more and more as Wing kept walking. Finally, when Wu had both hands involved in prodding for attention, Wing spun around. “What?!” he mouthed.

Wu pointed up. “The Dai Li had all sorts of secret passages, usually up near the ceilings. Everybody always thinks, earthbenders, ground, so up high...”

Remaining stock still, Wing's eyes tilted up to the massive columns holding the next floor up, and the shadowed space between them. “That's... actually a great idea, Wu.”

Wu smiled, and opened his mouth.

Wing held up a finger. “Think very hard. Is whatever you're about to say going to ruin it?”

Wu thought, and closed his mouth.

Wing smirked, patting Wu's cheek as he turned and moved back to where the others were hidden.

The kitchen was meant maybe for six cooks at a time, and a few servants bringing food to the nobles who resided on this floor. The twenty or so people they'd left here were already tight, but now there were more than thirty. “Wait, how did we get more people in here?” Wing asked. “We weren't gone _that_ long.”

“My family's quarters were nearby,” one of the delegates said. “I couldn't just leave them there—”

Wing raised his hands above him. “Sure, alright, fine. But nobody else leave the room. Except... you.” He pointed at a lithe-but-toned woman, one of the Imperial Loyalist delegates if he remembered right. “Good runner?”

“Um... I guess?”

“Alright, get out there, sneak up to the corner, and just listen. Run back if anyone's coming, but _quietly_.”

“I...”

“All in favor?” Wu asked, and half the room raised their hands.

She crossed her arms, muttering to herself as she poked her head into the hall, then sneaked up it.

Wing looked at everyone else in the room. “I'm looking for a way we can all sneak out. I don't suppose anybody knows about secret Dai Li tunnels, do you?”

Mutters and shaking heads. “We're not from the city...” someone felt the need to say.

“Couldn't you use your earthbending to find them?” another delegate asked.

“Yes, because secret tunnels that any earthbender could find would be easy to keep secret in the _Earth Kingdom_ royal palace!”

Wu put a hand on his shoulder. “Wingie, _maybe_ snapping at them isn't the best way to go? I know you're the only bender here and it's a lot of pressure, but think of our perspective!”

“What makes you think there's even secret tunnels here, anyway?” a delegate asked.

“Oh, please!” Wu said, rolling his eyes as he turned to the woman that spoke. “This is a kitchen! In the palace! Cooks are some of the biggest gossips there are—of _course_ the Dai Li had a way to listen in, at least!”

“...our cooks gossip about us?”

Wing shook his head, letting them ponder that particular bombshell as he felt along the walls. Near the cooking areas would be too noisy to hear anything from, and if they wanted a place to come and go unseen...

The larder. He opened the door.

“Oh!” a woman gasped, as she and the man who'd been attached to her neck blushed hard and buttoned their clothes back up.

Wing looked flatly at them both. “Really? Right now?”

“You're one to talk,” the man glared.

Wing spun, putting his face _right_ up against his. “You have a problem with me?”

“Uh... no.”

“Good,” Wing said with a wicked smile, patting his cheek. “Now get out of the way a minute. Let me feel the walls.”

“Ooh, ooh!” Wu said from the door. “Check behind the sea prunes.”

Wing crinkled his nose. “Sea prunes?”

“Nobody likes sea prunes.”

Wing picked one up, then shoved it aside, feeling the wall behind. “Wu, just because these jars _look_ eighty years old doesn't mean...”

“Hmm?”

There was a seam. “I guess you know your food.”

“What can I say? When you spend your life eating only the best, it's easy to spot what doesn't belong.”

Wing felt around the seam with his earthbending and soon enough figured out the mechanism for the hatch, pulling it into the kitchen with a surprising lack of sound. The Dai Li did quality work, back in the day.

Stepping back into the kitchen, he pointed at the four closest people. “Everybody, look around for a flashlight. Under the sinks, wherever they might have one. I don't know how far we've gotta go, but it's gonna be dark.”

The door burst open, the woman they'd sent as a sentry panting as she barely kept it from slamming behind her. “They're coming! Torches and everything!”

Right then. “Everybody in the middle of the room, start filing into the hole. Everybody near a cabinet, keep looking for lights!”

“Found one!”

“Alright, in the hole and pass it the the front! The rest of you keep looking!”

Wu tugged his sleeve, pulling him aside. “Do you think there'll be lots of earthbending things that need doing, in there?”

“Only if anybody wants to get back out of the wall. Why?”

“I... there's just, other people hiding up here. And on other floors.”

Wing groaned. “You're going to have me rescue all of them, aren't you?”

“As many as possible,” he said, tapping his index fingers together, quivering his lower lip.

“It'll be dangerous,” Wing said.

“...I'll help,” Wu said with a gulp.

Wing couldn't help it—he kissed him, right on the lips, right in front of everybody.

Wu's eyes fluttered open as he finished. “Wow. I didn't faint. I expected to faint.”

Wing clapped his hands around Wu's shoulders, making the thinner man yelp. “Let's go save some lives. EVERYONE, I'm gonna go distract the guys who're coming. Anybody with the guts to do the right thing, follow Wu out and get as many people from this floor into the pantry tunnel as you can. Anyone here good with cooking or fire?”

Three of them raised their hands.

Wing nodded. “Stay behind, do a head-count. If I'm not going to make it, set the room on fire and get into the tunnel.”

“Who're you to decide all this?” one of the three asked.

“All in favor?” Wu shouted again.

Everybody but the objector raised their hands.

“Alright, that's a plan, let's move!”

 

 

***

 

 

Asami had once loved Zaofu. She'd had such fond memories of it—spending all that time with Korra, back when they'd come to get Opal. Even the dangerous moments wound up with rewards like seeing Korra in a tank top.

Now, she thought of the battle she'd fought to defend it. The lives she'd taken, personally, to keep it safe. She thought of her brutal reunion with Korra, and the crater it had left in her heart.

And now this.

The jeep bounced hard on a hole in the road—clearly Su needed to invest in Future Industries shock absorbers. A thought for later; she focused instead on where she was driving. Something else she had to do, because apparently, nobody else could.

At least it would be quick. It had to be—she'd be holding up her own airship, otherwise.

She saw who she was looking for, and sent her jeep into a deliberate, theatrical spin, close enough to startle some of the marching troops out of formation, but stopping just where she'd intended—pointing back the way she'd come, directly in front of the jeep Kuvira was watching the troops from.

Asami reached into the passenger seat, grabbed her rifle, and tossed it at the dictator.

Kuvira caught it easily, barely taking her eyes off of her. “Have we met?”

“In passing, here and there,” Asami scowled. “We spoke, briefly, around the time you saved Korra's father. That was long before you murdered mine.”

The other woman glanced at the rifle. “Asami Sato?”

She nodded. “And you know what you're holding?”

“One of your rifles.”

Asami shook her head. “Your life. I held it, in my hands, six months ago, when you came to rescue the city. I had you, in my sights, not even two months after you took the last of my family from me. Did I make the right decision?”

Kuvira blinked at her ferocity, then gave the rifle a long stare. She gave herself a shake, then stepped down from the jeep, walking toward Asami's. “I saved the city,” she told her, handing back the rifle.

Asami shook her head. “That's not an answer.”

Kuvira set her wrists on Asami's door. Asami gripped the steering wheel to keep from doing anything else. This... _woman_ , so close to her...

“You act as if sparing my life gives you some say over it.”

“It did for Korra.”

“You don't know a thing about it.”

Asami laughed, a cold, wry sound. “I know Korra better than I know myself. But we're not here to talk about her. We're here to talk about you, and _them_.” She waved a hand sideways at the army, almost finished decamping.

“And why should I care what you have to say?”

Asami craned her neck, looking the way the army was marching. “They've been on the move for a while, and you've been standing here the whole time. You're in a jeep, you could be at the head of the column, or riding about. Yet you stood here, in plain view of the city...” Asami turned, gauging what Kuvira had been able to see from standing astride the jeep. “Looking at Suyin's tower, perhaps? Or wondering where Bataar Junior is being held?”

When her gaze returned to Kuvira, she saw the icy expression on the other woman's face, and knew she was on the right track.

Asami chuckled—but more to herself this time. “You know, in all our arguments lately, I never complained to Korra about how quickly she forgave _you_ . Literally minutes after smashing Dad with that ridiculous mecha, Korra risks her own life to save yours, because she knows, because Korra _understands_ how sacred life is. Because she _empathized_ with you. I... I'm trying very hard to see her point.”

“You didn't spare me out of empathy?”

Asami licked her lips, took a breath, shook her head. “I wish I could say that I had. It was more... a calculation. What I thought you might do, versus what the warlord would've. What it would've cost me, to pull that trigger, versus what I'd have gained from it.” Tenni had tried to take the medical bills for the firebender she'd shot out of Asami's hands, but Asami had fought back. She wanted to see them, every time they came in. A reminder. “It wouldn't have brought my father back.”

Kuvira was looking at the city. “You hated me, though.”

“Don't say that like I've stopped. I feel sick even talking to you. Especially since I'm the only one who can.”

Her eyes flitted downward. “What do you mean?”

“I looked at a map, Kuvira. I've followed the news. You're not marching to Ba Sing Se, you couldn't have known about that. You've got more forces out there still, but you haven't taken any major cities or set up another staging area. You're making an all-out assault, and you don't care who knows. In fact, you _want_ somebody to stop you.”

“What makes you say that?”

Asami nodded at Kuvira's jeep. “Standing there? Clear as day, for hours? You sure made it easy for people to find you. Sitting here, in view of the city you grew up in. Where your mentor and your onetime fiance might look out a window and see you.”

“I... was surveying the troops.”

“Lie to yourself all you want, but there's no need to lie to me.” Asami turned in her seat, facing Kuvira more fully. “I looked over the map, thinking of your three-year campaign, all the tactics you employed. You grew progressively more ruthless, more single-minded, standardizing everything, displacing or detaining or downright disappearing anybody who didn't fit into your perfect little homogeneous empire. What you thought you were going to do to such a patchwork nation as the United Republic is beyond me.”

Kuvira crossed her arms. “Get to your point.”

“Maybe I'm not eager to. Maybe what I realized was so... unspeakable, that I can't help but put it off. But I tried to think of what you might be doing, and I thought... why not do the hard thing? Why not take a page out of Korra's book, and put myself in your place? Try to think like you, _truly_ like you. And looking back, there's a certain degree of engineer to your mindset. Efficiency over everything, yes?”

Kuvira leaned back, eyes narrowed.

“You've been fighting the Red Lotus everywhere you could, but they keep melting away before you can really hurt them. They're not fighting like a traditional army. They're hiding among the people. So, silly me, I thought, what might I do if I didn't consider _people_ to be important?”

Kuvira turned, striding away.

“You can't face me if I say it, can you? Spirit's sake, Kuvira, that's the last bit of humanity you have left! _That's_ what I spared, and don't you _dare_ stamp it out to be expedient!”

She stopped, fists at her sides.

Asami stepped out of her jeep. “I get it, Kuvira. I hate it, but I do. Cold numbers, right? Bring your boot down hard, now, and extinguish the problem forever. But it never works that way.”

“Ah, the wisdom of General Sato, who fought and lost a single battle.”

Sarcasm. She was hitting home. “Even Sozin couldn't kill every Airbender. You want to end war by killing? You want to kill tens of thousands now to save hundreds of thousands over decades? Where will it end? Until you make an orphan of every child in your path? Or are the orphans too much of a threat, too? The two of us would know, wouldn't we?”

Kuvira turned, keeping her back toward Asami.

“You think you're being strong? Doing the hard thing nobody else is willing to? You're not. You're making a false choice, but you've hurt yourself too much to even see there's other ways. You tell yourself, you're not important, let history make a villain of you. But really, it's your ego telling you that nobody else can set things right. Just Kuvira. Only little, abandoned, unloved Kuvira can save the world from itself.”

She turned, breathing hard, glaring Asami down. Asami merely titled her neck to meet her gaze.

“Who do you think you are? Some... over-educated heiress? A pampered socialite? What makes you think you know a thing about me?!”

Asami stepped toward her, until their faces nearly touched. “I'll tell you who I am. I'm that tiny, almost-dead voice, deep inside you, that kept you listening, even as every other part of you _screamed_ that I'm wrong. I'm the woman who has seen her life destroyed, had everything stripped away from her, again, and again, and still I'll jump in to help keep the same from happening to anyone else. I'm the echo of what you lost along the way, and I'm your last chance, your _very_ _last chance_ to get your humanity back.”

Kuvira's nostrils flared. Their eyes remained locked. Asami felt the other woman's ragged breath on her face. “And how would you do that?”

“If pointing out the logical flaws in genocide doesn't work... then by offering an alternative. One that you already tried, but were too afraid to push. Give up your army.”

“To who? The Avatar doesn't want it. Su doesn't trust it.”

“To me.”

“To you?”

“Yes.”

Kuvira laughed. Asami didn't budge. “What do you need an army for?”

“Something more constructive than genocide.”

Kuvira stepped back.

Asami pressed the advantage. “Kuvira, you started out all those years ago, trying to do the right thing. Even now, by some twisted-up logic, you still think you are. Step back. Look at what you're doing. Forget why, forget everything that got you here. Step _back_.”

She was pale, trembling. “It's... we'll be better off...”

“The survivors? Will they? That's your choice to make?”

Kuvira bumped against her jeep, reaching back to grab it to hold herself up.

“You don't need to be the villain, Kuvira,” Asami said, holding out her hand. “You have a choice. We all have a choice.”

She stared at Asami's hand, eyes wide, eyebrows high. “You hate me.”

“Yes,” Asami agreed.

“You'll help me.”

“Yes.”

Kuvira swallowed, hand trembling in the air.

Asami waited.

Kuvira closed her eyes and clasped Asami's wrist. “Take it. Take it all. Take it all away, I can't... I can't.”

Asami placed her other hand over Kuvira's, formalizing the handshake. “How do we countermand the rest of your army? Is there still time?”

Kuvira reeled her arm in as Asami released it, turning to support herself on the jeep. “Yes. Yes there is. I'll pen the orders. Multiple copies... Colonel!”

An officer marching at the edge of the column rushed up the hill. “General Kuvira?”

“Take my jeep. Order a halt. I'm...” she looked at Asami.

Asami nodded.

“What are you going to do?” Kuvira whispered.

“Ba Sing Se,” Asami said.

Kuvira nodded, a world away. “My... your... the other forces, they're closer.”

Asami nodded. “Still. I'll have something formal prepared for them by the time they arrive. She pulled a watch from her pocket, cursing slightly. “Get in my jeep. You can write your orders on the way. We have an airship to catch.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, alllllll the plot lines are finally on a collision course! Not much Korra in this chapter--she'll be in the thick of it next time, you can be sure--but we got a big moment for Kuvira. And for Asams, I'd say, too. 
> 
> Thanks again to alphas and betas, and to all my readers too! As always, feel free/encouraged/low-key-begged to comment, tell me what you're feeling, what you like, even what you don't! If commenting here isn't direct enough, go have a look at my tumblr, threehoursfromtroy, if you care to drop a line!


	31. A Long, Long Way to Ba Sing Se

_Dear Korra,_

 

_Nature abhors a vacuum._

_If you pull water from a pond, more rushes in to fill the space. The same is true of air, and heat. People._

_Emotion._

_This feels worse than before. At least then, I knew where you were, knew why you were hurting. At least then, I knew your parents were looking after you, that you had a reason to be silent. Even still, it tore me up, sending you pieces of my heart, again and again. But then you came back._

_For a time._

_I gave you the best of myself, Korra. I was scared to, but so hopeful, and you were so sure and so real and so_ present _. You carry that with you still, and I am left... empty. A vacuum._

_Every insecurity, every doubt, every feeling of shame and regret for the mistakes I've made in my life have rushed to fill it._

_I can't ask for what I gave back. I fear that it would no longer fit. I am working, instead, like I always do. To the exclusion of all else. I will still build the city I promised you—I gave my word, after all. I still come to the office every day, the picture of steadiness._

_Nobody knows I'm cracking inside. Nobody sees the hole you left. I dare not let them._

_Nature abhors a vacuum. This silence, between us, I fill with words I'm terrified to hear you say. I'm a killer. I'm not worthy. You never loved me. I don't deserve you. You would never say those things, would you? Because every time I look at your side of the bed, every time I'm reminded of you, it's like you're there, whispering to me, telling me my faults._

_I've only ever done my best, Korra. I've tried my hardest, then pushed through and tried harder still._

_And, in the end, as always, I am alone._

_I miss you. I will always love you._

_Look at what it's lost me._

_I can't continue this. I can't keep pretending you'll come back, fill that void inside me._

_This isn't healthy for me._

_I have to move on._

_I love you._

_I miss you._

_I hope, someday, you find somebody who can make you as happy as, for a time, you made me._

_I hope, somehow, you'll remember me well._

_Maybe you'll never get this letter. Maybe you haven't gotten any of them._

_You've already made your choice._

_This is me, coming to terms with mine._

 

 

_With love, and sadness,_

 

_Asami Sato_

 

 

_***_

 

 

Thousands of spirits filled the plain around them, milling about, chattering among themselves in the pelting rain. Not always peacefully—Caluqtiq could see several shoving matches from here, and a few where the spirits had even gone dark and were tearing at the ground.

Lightning cracked above them, startling her and Nuktik, though Desna didn't seem to mind. “I'd say we found where the spirits are gathering,” she said.

“And not too soon, either,” Nuktik said, pointing. “Did you see that, there?”

“What?” Caluqtiq asked. “There's thousands of them, I don't know what you're pointing at.”

“A spirit just... disappeared. It shimmered for a moment, and I swear it had a shadow for just a flash before it vanished.”

“They're crossing over into the material world,” Desna said.

“That's not a problem by itself,” Caluqtiq said. “We have to find the ones going dark, and figure out how to stop them. Cleanse them, or drive them away, hold them here in the Spirit World at least...”

“And if we run into Vaatu?” Desna asked.

“You heard her. Cleanse him, or drive him away.”

“The spirit of primal chaos,” Desna said. “I shall say one thing for the two of you—your lives are not dull.”

Lightning cracked again. They made their way into the spirit throng.

 

 

***

 

 

“You haven't beaten me.”

Korra turned away from the vision, looking out over the horizon ahead of them. There was a dull glow in the distance—she might have mistaken it for sunrise, if not for the fact that she was looking north.

Ba Sing Se wasn't far.

The metal rail was cold against her skin as the ship rushed toward the city, barreling through the darkness. Opal and Tenzin's family had worked through the night to give them the sort of tail-wind that would capsize most boats, but Asami's piloting had kept them stable and ahead of schedule.

“Honey?” her dad asked, stepping up beside her. He had to raise his voice to be heard above the wind. “Are you alright?”

What reply could she make to that?

“You shouldn't be up here sleeveless, Korra. It's colder than a glacier out here.”

Korra cupped her hands, firebreathed some heat into them, rubbed them on her arms.

The vision snorted.

“Do you have a plan, once we get to the city?” Dad asked, an arm around her shoulder.

Korra inhaled at the touch. “Help out, any way we can. Eska, Kya, and I will focus on the spirits, though in a city this big, there's only so much we can do.”

The dark presence whispered: “You're not going to mention how much easier this might be if he could spirit-bend? I'm sure he's thinking it. No wonder his daughter is a failure, when he is too.”

“You should go to the Upper Ring with Tenzin and Su,” Korra said, “try to subdue things there. Maybe Kuvira, if we can really trust her. Everyone else, put out fires, I guess. Hard to say until we see what we're up against.”

“Chaos, I'm sure,” the vision Asami replied. “Another utter disaster on your watch. Wouldn't it be easier if you just... gave up? The world would be better off without you. I certainly am.”

Korra turned to her father, saw the worry on his face. “Maybe you're right. Let's go inside. I should probably get a solid meal in me now—it's going to be a long day.”

Her father's response was lost to the wind.

 

 

***

 

 

The fact that Jinora knew her body was safe did not make spirit projecting into a war zone any less terrifying.

The ship was still hours away yet—but there was no need to stay with it.

Besides, she had a few things she wanted to try.

Fire and rubble dominated the landscape around her as she blinked into the Lower Ring. Just like in Kuodan, most of the people had found somewhere to hide, though some human shouts were mixed in with spirits' shrieks and screams.

Smoke wafted through her, and she was glad her spirit could not smell.

A building behind her crashed apart, sending Jinora into a quick retreat on instinct alone. A massive four-legged spirit emerged from the rubble, staring right at her.

She took a breath, calming herself. She couldn't bend, in this state, and she couldn't touch physical objects...

The spirit charged her, and she sidestepped at the last second, running her hand along its slick, scalding surface. Jinora pressed hard against it, closed her eyes, and _moved_.

When she opened her eyes, she and the spirit were in the Spirit World.

The young airbender smirked. “Looks like you've got more than waterbenders to worry about.” The spirit roared, charging at her, but by the time it would've hit, she was back in Ba Sing Se.

 

 

***

 

 

The cut on Mako's temple had stopped bleeding some time ago, but the blood that had dried over half his face still made Tsu Ying's heart lurch every time. And not in the way she normally liked her heart lurching.

“Okay, so killing the spirits is still not an option?” Wei asked, panting as the group of them hid in a building to catch their breath.

“Seems the best we can do is tire them out,” said Shu. “Or at least distract them from civilians. There are still civilians, right?”

Mako shook his head. “I've seen some messes before, but... it seems like every area we pass through you either have rioters or spirits attacking. I'm not sure which is doing more damage.”

“Could we herd them into each other?” Shu asked.

“Do you want to see all the rioters killed?” Tsu Ying said, eyeing him flatly.

“Now, I know there's a right answer to that, but most of today makes it hard for me to feel it. Or would it be yesterday now, at this point?”

“I love you,” Mako said, meeting Tsu Ying's eyes.

She frowned. That was out of nowhere. “Okay, what damned fool idiot thing are you thinking?”

“What, getting entangled with you isn't idiotic enough?” Shu asked.

Wei punched his shoulder.

“Thanks, Wei,” Mako and Tsu Ying said.

Mako craned his neck, glancing out the window. “I don't want to hurt the rioters—misled or not, they're still just people trying to live their lives. But they've set chunks of the city alight. Maybe if we can at least lure the dark spirits to the areas that are already being destroyed...”

Wei groaned.

“Alright, I take it back,” Tsu Ying said. “I think I'm going to hate you for the rest of the day.”

“As long as you make it through, I'm fine with that,” Mako said.

That. That there. That was the sort of heart lurch she liked.

“Wei,” Shu said. “I love you.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Alright,” Mako said, pushing himself back to his feet. “Let's bait some spirits.”

 

 

***

 

Asami squinted against the sunrise to her right as she brought the airship in low over the famed Outer Wall. The last time she'd seen the sight had been that happy season, years ago, Korra at her side...

She shook her head. That was the past. Firmly in the past. Yes. It had to be.

“Hey,” Bolin said, peeking into the bridge. “We're almost there, then?”

Asami nodded, signaling for the captain to take over. “I've got to go prepare,” she explained, joining Bolin in the hallway.

“Um, Asami, you have a minute?”

She sighed, putting on a smile. “Of course, Bolin. What—”

He wrapped her up in his arms.

“This is for like, the last six months,” he said. “I kept trying to come and see if you were okay but you never let me in, which only made me think maybe you weren't, and the last few days now I know you aren't—”

“I'm not really in the hugging mood right now,” Asami said, wriggling in his grip, her feet dangling.

“Well, who knows what's going to happen today?” he said, setting her back on the ground, but keeping a grip on her arms. “Look... Asami... I'm not going to pretend what you're going through is easy. When Opal and I had our big fight, I was desperate to fix it, I couldn't think about anything else—”

“There's no fixing this one, Bolin.”

“Of course there is! You're Asami Sato! You can fix anything!”

Asami shuddered. 'If you can't fix it, I can,' they'd told each other. It had seemed so true, then.

Maybe it had been.

“Asami,” Bolin continued, putting an arm around her shoulder and walking, oblivious to the thoughts roiling in her. “I'm just worried that, even if we do all get through this okay, you're just going to vanish into your work again, like you did the last few months, or after the Equalist thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know. You get overwhelmed emotionally, so you just run away from it. I mean, after we turned your dad in, we barely saw you before the trip south, and even then that was a business deal for you.”

“I... you're saying I... isolate myself?”

“And there's nothing wrong with that!” Bolin insisted. “But it makes it hard, for people who love you.”

Asami stopped, making Bolin's steps pivot them both to face a wall.

“Um...” he said.

“Shit,” Asami breathed. Had she really been so concerned with what Korra was doing, she'd overlooked her own actions?

Of course she had.

“Asami?”

She turned, tilting her head to kiss his cheek. “You're right, Bolin. We _should_ talk more. Thank you.”

“Um... you're welcome?” he said, as Asami ducked out of his arms. “What just happened?”

You pointed out my hypocrisy, and I couldn't be happier. “Nothing. You just... made me realize I have some room to maneuver. Or Korra does, at least.”

“What?”

“Never mind!” Asami said, stilling herself. “We'll talk about it later, okay? Right now, there's a city to save. Go get with the others!”

“Yes, Ma'am!” Bolin said, probably saluting her or something—she didn't look back to check.

Ba Sing Se was in trouble.

She and Korra would have to wait a little longer.

 

 

***

 

 

“Get ready,” Lin said, standing beside Kya as the wall to the Outer Ring approached.

“I've seen battles before,” Kya said. “Kuodan, not too far back? I can take care of myself.”

“I didn't mean for that,” Lin said as they sailed over, and saw fire and smoke and chaos. “I meant for the smell.”

Kya coughed. “Oh spirits, no kidding!”

“The only thing worse than rotting sewage is _burning_ sewage,” Lin said. “You've got a hold on me?”

“As close as I can without being nude.”

Lin snorted. This woman of hers... “Let's keep it that way.” She tipped off the side, shooting one of her cables up to the airship, controlling its release to slow their descent.

She might have expected Kya to shout or yell or tense, but instead, her girlfriend held her tight and laughed.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Kya didn't answer, nudging her head against Lin's. “Spirits, to the left!”

Lin nodded, letting the cable go from the airship, reeling it in as they fell, then snapping it back toward the tallest building around. Their fall turned into an arc, sending them sailing toward the spirit Kya had seen attacking a canal.

“I've got us!” Kya said, reaching forward with an arm, then pulling back with a twist. A surge of water leapt from the canal to meet them.

Lin held her breath, focusing on the warmth of Kya's body as the cold water grabbed hold of them, spun them around. Before long, there was ground beneath her feet, the water streaming away. “Good landing,” she complimented.

“Thanks for the ride,” Kya said with a wink, forming the water into a tendril around her. The spirit they'd came for sped toward them. “Now try to get it still while I work.”

“You want me to detain it?” Lin asked, whipping her cable at the beast. “What am I, some sort of policewoman?”

Kya barked a laugh, and they both charged in.

 

 

***

 

 

Korra surveyed the city, looking for where spirits seemed to be the most concentrated.

“Oh, I'm sure you'll find them everywhere,” the vision told her, leaning against her shoulder. “Plenty of opportunities for you to fail, all over the city. It should be quite the day.”

“Korra!” the same voice said, only warmer. Real. She shuddered, looking over her other shoulder, and saw Asami coming her way.

A rifle was slung across her back.

The real Asami—was she?—slowed. “Korra... you stay safe down there.”

“What will you be doing?”

“Using this as little as possible,” she said, nodding toward the rifle that Korra was still staring at. “Sometimes, you need extreme force at a distance, but when I have the choice...” She waved her shock glove between them. “I thought, maybe, I would come with you. Have your back.”

“What lies,” the other Asami said, slithering up behind the real one. “Look about after the battle, you will find bodies with her bullets all over the city.”

“I'm sorry,” Korra said, looking down. “I'm sorry I didn't come, that I...”

“Hey,” Asami said, and Korra looked up, not sure which one it was. “I'm sorry I scared you away.” She smiled, then shuddered, pain coming over her face. A trickle of blood came from the corner of her lips.

“Asami!” Korra shouted, rushing toward her.

She backed up a step, breathless, wide-eyed at Korra's outburst. No blood on her lips. No pain. Petty laughter came from nowhere, echoed between Korra's ears.

Korra shuddered, closed her eyes, and pulled Asami into a tight embrace. “Don't you think... I think you'd better help secure the palace.” It will be safer. For both of us.

“Korra,” Asami started, voice stubborn.

“I'm going to be moving faster than you can,” she said, a little harshly, turning away. “There's spirits everywhere. If I have to stop to carry you...”

“Carry _me_? _I_ just carried _everyone_...” Asami growled, took a breath. “You're infuriating!”

Fine. Be mad. Just be _safe_. “I'm not leaving you out, Asami. I'm not shoving you to the sidelines. You can see the palace smoking from here.”

“Make me a promise, then.”

Anything. “What?”

“You'll still be here, after the battle. You won't take the chaos as another chance to run.”

Another Asami stepped around her. “As if you could outrun me.”

“I won't. Not this time.”

Asami sniffed, one hand on Korra's shoulder, pulling her toward her, tilting her head back. Asami smiled, a sad thing, cautious, terrified. Then she pushed up onto her toes and kissed Korra on the forehead. “I'm going to hold you to that, Avatar. Now, go save the world.”

Korra took Asami's ungloved hand for just a moment, squeezing her palm, feeling her squeeze back.

Then she took a breath, took one last, good look at the woman she loved, and leapt off the airship.

 

 

***

 

 

Kai stepped up to Tenzin as the old Master watched their friends below. He was leaning heavily on the rail, his cane hooked over it. “That's everyone for the Outer Ring, I think. Most of Suyin's metalbenders, anyone who can spirit-bend...”

“Jinora is still in her room?” Tenzin asked.

Kai nodded. “Meditating hard. Whatever she's doing must be working, or she'd have come back by now, right?”

Tenzin stroked his beard. “I can barely stand, Kai. This is a dire emergency, and I am in no shape to help with it.”

“Hey, now. Don't think like that. You've still got your wisdom, and, um... your baldness...”

Tenzin snapped Kai a Look. Kai chuckled awkwardly.

“You _did_ help get us all here as fast as we did. That's not nothing.”

“I suppose it is not,” Tenzin sighed. “What are you still doing up here?”

“Me? Um... I was thinking, I'll watch over Jinora, since you never know what might happen up here—”

Tenzin turned, lurching when his knee buckled unexpectedly, but catching himself. “I can take care of that. Why don't you fly down, and help with the others.”

“You're sure?”

Tenzin nodded, distracted. “You're already as capable as most of my own children. Except Jinora, but she's outgrown me, at this point...”

Kai scratched the back of his head. “Oh. Um... well thanks. But you're sure you're okay?”

Tenzin looked out over the burning city, his free hand touching the burn scar on his face. “As well as one might expect. Go on.”

The young man nodded, took a few moments to prepare his wingsuit, and hopped over the side. The old master watched after him for a moment, then hobbled below deck.

Stairs were the hardest thing, but a little airbending to cushion his slips when nobody was looking made quick work of it. Jinora was just as he'd left her, meditating peacefully, legs wrapped in lotus position, spirit down in the city, saving lives.

Tenzin sat on the cot opposite her. His legs could no longer bend that way, and he could no longer sit still for so long without paying the price later.

So he sat, pillows propping him up, and watched his daughter, and waited.

 

 

***

 

 

“Come this way!” Opal shouted keeping a ready stance in case any of the spirits came their way. “Can't you see that building's on fire!?”

“That's why we came in here!” said the woman in the braid, pulling an mustachioed older man with her. “We're trying to lead—wait, you're an airbender!”

“You got it!” Opal said, glancing over her shoulder. Eska was pacifying a trio of boarcupine spirits, while Bolin was throwing rocks and bits of building at the other ones coming at her. “Is anyone else in there?”

“We got separated,” the man said. “We were trying to lead spirits into the damaged areas, so they wouldn't hurt people in the safer parts of—”

“Duck!” The woman shouted, tackling him to the ground as a flurry of needles streamed toward them. Opal was already deflecting them, but the woman had good reflexes.

“When did you see them last?” the woman asked her companion.

“Two blocks back?” he shrugged, pushing himself up. “I was busy trying not to die.”

“Show me,” Opal said, “then we'll find somewhere safe for you.”

The woman snorted. “I know you mean well, honey, but 'safe' isn't exactly our game.”

Bolin had bent a wall around most of the furious spirits, which slowed them down about as much as a thick fog. “Come _on_!” he complained, kicking some rocks into the air then spinning them molten. “Walking through walls is just cheating!”

Eska stepped in, streaming water around the entire enclosure, trying to cleanse all the spirits at once. Most of them shuddered, began to glow, but four broke loose. Opal knocked the feet out from under one. Bolin's lava rocks got the other two bounding out of the way, but the last barreled straight for Eska.

The woman they'd just rescued careened into it, holding a garbage bin lid between herself and the spirit's spines. She hit just hard enough to send the spirit spinning, though the woman herself had a hard time getting up.

“Tsu Ying!” the man shouted, already sliding to her side. Several spines had punctured the lid—and the woman's arm—sticking it to her, making it harder for her to stand. Much less, dodge the two spirits coming right at them.

The man had out a sword, ready to face the spirits down, when a lightning bolt struck out of nowhere, blasting both spirits into the wall. Opal could hear the woman laugh as she looked for the source. What would a firebender be doing in Ba Sing Se?

A tall, shaggy-haired, bearded man rushed forward, tickling part of Opal's mind. Something about him seemed familiar. His gait, maybe? She and Bolin were steps behind him, but the man's gaze was only for this Tsu Ying.

He pulled her up—by the arm not attached to a garbage lid—and into a kiss. She laughed into it. “About time.”

“You run too fast,” he said, and Opal's jaw dropped at his voice.

So had Bolin's. “....bro?”

He turned around, and sure enough, there were Mako's yellow eyes above a shockingly full beard. “Bolin?!” he grinned, grabbing his shoulders.

“Please assist me!” Eska shouted, getting everyone's attention as another pile of spirits rushed her.

“We'll catch up later!” Mako said, clapping Bolin's back and rushing past.

“Yeah, sure!” Bolin shouted, hurling a flurry of rocks.

“Hey,” the woman—Tsu Ying—Mako's _girlfriend!?—_ approached Opal. “Are you okay?”

“You've... still got that thing stuck to your arm.”

Tsu Ying looked at it, shrugged. “I noticed. Hurts like hell. You okay?”

Opal laughed, stepping around the woman to airbend a cyclone around a trio of spirits, throwing them back the way they'd come. “Welcome to the family!”

 

 

***

 

 

Korra flew above the Lower Ring in a howling sphere of air, her eyes glowing fiercely and an entire river flying through the air around her. Her arms flowed, and the water with it, spiraling around four city blocks as she cleansed them all at once.

Even at this rate, cleansing the entire city would take days, and that only dealt with the spirits. Whatever revolt had gotten the spirits so mad to begin with, presumably, was still going on. She'd have to be around to fix that, too.

The spirits all flashed into motes beneath her. “Go in peace,” she said to them, before splaying her fingers, turning the water into a thick fog and directing it toward the fires.

Something fluttered nearby—a parachute? She turned, and saw Asami, slumped and bleeding, as the parachute burned above her. She reached for Korra, fingers trembling. “Why weren't you there...”

Korra growled, flying away. Off in the distance, she could see Asami's airship, still flying true.

“Wouldn't it be a shame if something happened to it?” the vision shouted, her laughter cutting across the distance as Korra tried to put it out of her mind.

 

 

***

 

 

“I'm not sure about this,” Su said, looking over her onetime protege.

“She could be useful, if some of her loyalists are down there,” Toph said, standing behind Kuvira. “I could put her on a leash, if you want?”

“I can stay on the ship,” Kuvira said. “I... know I cannot be trusted. I don't even trust me, anymore...”

“Hah!” Toph said, punching Kuvira in the elbow. “Look at that! The girl broke her!”

Kuvira's attitude was... markedly different than it had been, the day before. “I don't trust her.”

“You shouldn't.”

“She's telling the truth,” Toph said. “Tell you what, Su—I'll stick with her. She gets uppity, we'll see how she deals with the _original_ metalbender.”

Su rolled her eyes. “Fine, Mother. I hope you do a better job with her than I did. I'm surprised you even want to come along, after sitting everything else out the last four years.”

“Everything else, but family. You _do_ know the twins are here, right?”

“You're just here for them?”

“Well... if I kick a few butts along the way, that's good too.”

Asami strode up to them, Tonraq a few steps behind her. Kuvira tensed as she approached—what _had_ the woman said? “We're nearing the palace. My crew—”

The ship rocked to the side as metal shrieks coursed through it. Su moved quickly enough to stop her mother from busting her head open on a railing, but they both wound up on the floor with Kuvira and Tonraq.

Asami had one hand on the wall, keeping her balance. “Something hit us!” she said. “And the list isn't correcting, so it hit us _hard_.”

More impacts, more metal shrieks. Then the lights went out.

“Is everybody okay?” Tonraq asked.

“Anyone who isn't, couldn't answer,” said Su.

“We're all fine!” Toph spat. “I'm guessing the lights are out, from the way you're all talking?”

“Does anyone else feel... light?” Tonraq asked.

“We're losing altitude,” Asami said, “but not in total freefall. Everybody get up, and follow my voice!”

“Shouldn't I take the lead?” Toph asked. “I can actually see, sorta!”

“Yes, but I know where I'm going.”

“Do you know what's attacking us?” Kuvira asked.

“The skies were clear a moment ago—”

Whatever it was, struck again. The floor dropped out from under them.

 

 

***

 

 

“Okay,” Wing said, stifling a yawn as he led another gaggle of delegates into the crystal-lit catacomb. If he was remembering his history remotely right, this was the room Avatar Aang had nearly died in, the day the city had fallen. Appropriate enough it would get used again today. “What's the head-count, now?”

“Eight more makes... four hundred sixty two,” the delegate he'd put in charge of that answered.

That wasn't entirely delegates, of course—it was also their families, and palace staff. Anybody who didn't look like they wanted to be found by the Red Lotus rioters—if that was even the right term. They were moving with way too much intent to truly be a riot, and they'd kept it up through the night.

Wu touched his shoulder. “Hey... you haven't slept. There's two other earthbenders grabbing people now.”

“There's still more people to grab,” he said. He hoped. “I can slaaaAAAAahhhheep later.”

Wu looked at him flatly. “Or you'll fall asleep in one of those tunnels and nobody will ever find you and I'll die old and alone!”

Wing _wanted_ to give him crap for that, but his word... box was not... wording. “I have to keep going,” he said simply, turning.

“Why? You've found fewer and few people each time, we must've found most everybody who's still hiding.”

“If anyone's left... I want to find them.”

“Wing, if anyone's left, they must be hidden really well. What makes you think the bad guys will find them?”

Because he'd seen when they had. “I just know, okay?”

“Wing!” Wu grabbed his hand as he tried to go. “Tell me.”

He looked in Wu's eyes, those big, innocent eyes. Wu was... excitable, but he was no fool.

Wing bit his lip, pulling Wu aside. “I've seen some of the places I got to, too late. These guys aren't messing around, Wu. They want to take over the city, and they don't want anybody left to push back.”

“You... you're saying—”

“I'm saying the delegates here may be all that are left.”

Wu covered his mouth. “Oh spirits...”

“Yeah,” Wing said.

He'd expected theatrics, some big weepy mess. Instead, Wu just quietly pulled Wing into a hug, resting their heads together. “I'm so sorry you've had to see all that,” Wu said.

“I should go,” Wing replied, not sure he could control his voice.

“And I'm really, really proud of you,” Wu whispered as Wing pushed through his fatigue and climbed back into the tunnel network. It was a good thing he was 'seeing' with his feet, because his burning eyes wouldn't have seen well for a while after.

 

 

***

 

 

Jinora flitted back into the material world, only to see the spirits around her starting to glow, as they were cleansed. She yelped, pushing herself away before she got caught in it too. A titanic pillar of water swirled around this section of the city, catching all the dark spirits at once.

“Wow,” Jinora said, floating into the air to get a better look at Korra. She's never seen one person bend so much water at once before, much less with the control necessary to cleanse spirits. She'd seen Korra fight before, but it was still impossible not to look at this woman she'd played games with in all her power, and not be overcome with awe.

Not so overcome, though, as she didn't notice the massive raven spirits flocking toward her.

Jinora _flicked_ herself upward, between Korra and the spirits. The Avatar's focus was on what she was cleansing below—the ravens might each be small, but it wouldn't take much to hurt Korra badly if she didn't defend herself. “Korra!” she shouted. “Flying spirits, over here!”

Korra's glowing eyes glanced Jinora's way—if she had a body, it would've shivered. Korra took a breath, then blew a torrent at the spirits, all the while her legs and arms continued to cleanse the spirits below.

“Wow,” Jinora said again, floating to Korra's other side as she finished. Should she stick around, in case more flying spirits came for—

Gasping, Jinora searched the sky around the palace. “Where's the airship? Where's the airship!?”

“You're not going to trick me,” Korra said, gritting her teeth as the water tendrils began to glow beneath her.

“Trick you? Why would I...” Jinora held her words, bit her lip. She should let Korra finish.

“I'll be right back,” Jinora said, jumping away, back to her body.

The room was dark, only a little light streaming through the porthole, which was above them not on the wall.

“Jinora,” her father said, picking her up. “Thank goodness...”

“Are you okay?” Jinora asked.

“Me?”

“Yeah, Dad. You.”

“Well... yes. What's going on?”

“Dark spirits. Please just... stay safe, here,” she said, closing her eyes again.

She returned to Korra's side as the spirits below vanished into motes. Jinora moved right in front of her as she completed her little half-bow. “Korra, the airship crashed! Those spirits must've done something to it.”

Jinora flitted ahead, to check on everyone else in the ship. The captain was unconscious, but being cared for by the navigator. The engine room was just _gone._ Within the ship itself...

Asami yelped as she appeared in front of her. Su and Kuvira did too, while Tonraq looked ready to attack.

“What?” Toph asked.

“Jinora,” Asami said, pressing a hand to her chest. “You're still aboard. Your dad—”

“He's fine. Though... the room is sideways, he might need some help getting out. Korra's on her way to help, though, and she did just blow a bunch of spirit ravens away, but who knows if they'll come back, or if there's more.”

“Spirits,” Asami muttered. “Thanks, for the update.”

Jinora gave her a nod, then blinked to the outside of the ship. Korra should be there by now...

The airship had plowed into a building, just inside the Upper Ring, embedding itself in the top few floors. People streamed out the doors, some climbing out of upper windows—who knew how many people may have been inside when the airship struck? Half of the ship was still jutting into the air—would the building even support the extra weight, after the damage it had taken?

She looked around for Korra, saw a figure in blue on the ground, leaning over a still body, laying in a pool of blood. Hesitantly, Korra knelt, flipping the body over, and—

Asami?

Then, the body started to laugh, a chilling sound that traveled all the way to where Jinora watched.

Korra shot up into the sky. Where she'd stood, there was nothing.

Jinora blinked. What had she just seen?

 

 

***

 

 

The storm was a typhoon around them now, Desna's arms locked with both Nuktik and Caluqtiq's to keep from losing each other. All about them, spirits were jostling against each other, shouting, going dark, shimmering away into the material world.

But there was no clear cause. Nothing, on this side, making so many go dark. So many shifting over, many already enraged.

But no Vaatu.

“Maybe we should just start cleansing as many as we can?” Nuktik asked.

“That would be like fighting the tide,” Caluqtiq said, holding him close. “Is anyone else growing nervous that we haven't seen Vaatu? And isn't _that_ an odd thing to complain about...”

Desna had locked her eyes on a scared little monkey spirit, skittering between the legs of its larger brethren. She knelt down, motioning to it, holding a hand up to block the rain. “Little one, come here.”

The monkey saw her, scampering over and hugging her arm. “So many angry!”

“I see that,” Desna said, unsure of what to do with herself. Should she... pet the creature? Would that be rude? “We wish to make them happier.”

“I see!” said the spirit. “You are happier, this is good.”

Happier. Yes. She stifled a smile. “We're looking for what's corrupting all the spirits here. Do you know where Vaatu is?”

“Not here,” the spirit shuddered. “Not here for years.”

“Here... on this field?” Nuktik asked.

“Here in the Spirit World,” Desna said.

The spirit nodded.

Desna sat back. If not here, then where _had_ Vaatu gone after cousin Korra had cleansed him?

Her eyes shot wide. “Oh no.”

 

 

***

 

 

Lin sent a cord of metal at the crowd, wrapping around them before they could throw anything else at the beleaguered soldiers.

Then she threw one around them too, pulling them tight.

“Why are you idiots even fighting right now?! The city is burning down around you!”

“They started the fires!” one of the soldiers shouted. “They're anarchists!”

“They're trying to wipe us out!” a citizen complained, with shouts of 'murderers!' and 'assassins!' thrown in.

Lin scowled. “Kya!”

Her girlfriend hosed both parties down until their shouting turned into pathetic burbles. Lin tapped her foot, holding both groups in place.

Kya let up, pulling the water from the ground and leaping toward another spirit that had taken advantage of her momentary distraction to knock the front off a building.

“Look at that!” Lin said, nodding toward the destruction. “I can't imagine any of you want to see Ba Sing Se torn to bits around you. Do you?”

She got a lot of soggy wet stares.

“Well? Do you!?”

“We don't have anything to do with the spirits...” one of the civilians said.

“No, you're too busy beating the tar out of each other!” She turned to the soldiers. “Do any of you guys actually want to hurt the civvies over there?”

Several of them looked down. Somebody coughed. “That one lady said unkind things,” somebody ventured.

“Shut up,” the soldiers around him hissed, jostling him silent.

Lin turned to the exhausted citizens. “And obviously you don't want to burn your homes down. Will you all work with the soldiers, if I let them go?”

“Doing what?”

“Fighting the fires! Rescuing anybody who's been hurt! You ever think, the spirits are tearing the place up like animals, because that's how you're treating each other?”

“Lin!” Kya shouted, a note of pride in her voice. “That's the most spiritual thing you've ever said!”

“Oh don't start!” Lin snapped back. How had she even heard her?

“They'll just start killing us again!” one of the civilians said.

Lin tried not to growl. It wasn't like she actually knew much about the situation here. “I'm here with the Avatar and half the world's leaders. We'll get to the bottom of whatever's been going on, but we all have to survive it first, right?”

Murmurs echoed through both groups. “Avatar Korra? She's here?”

In a matter of speaking... she hadn't looked too steady. “Yes. And stronger than ever.”

The citizen who seemed to have named himself spokesman for the group looked around, nodding. “We'll help. But the soldiers don't get to order us around!”

“No? Who takes charge in a given area then? Someone like you?”

“Yeah,” he said, straightening his back.

“Somebody with commanding presence, who knows what needs to be done.”

“Yeah!”

“Like, maybe somebody who has been trained to view a situation tactically and make the best use of the manpower available?”

“Yeah! Exactly!”

The woman next to him smacked her forehead. “She's talking about the soldiers, you nit-wit.”

“We need to be organized right now,” Lin said, letting the cables around both crowds loose. “Fire doesn't care about whatever you're fighting over. Neither do the spirits. Work together, we can all make it through both.”

The man who'd been speaking looked flush, but a general sense of agreement went through the crowd.

Lin continued scowling at them, skeptical. “Okay...” she rolled her cables back out, weaving between people, splitting both groups in two. “Everybody in the middle, search for survivors and fight the fire. Everybody on the outside, come with me. You're gonna help me spread this sudden outbreak of good sense.”

Somehow, that earned chuckles from all parts of the crowd.

Lin turned shaking her head. This wasn't even _her_ city, and already she was acting the police chief again? Eventually, she'd have to learn how not to keep falling in these situations.

Right now, she looked for where the smoke was thickest, and charged toward it.

 

 

***

 

 

“You keep looking back,” Toph said, nearby.

“It's pitch-dark,” Kuvira replied, clearing her throat. The air was getting increasingly smoky, though nobody had wanted to mention it aloud yet. Nor had they mentioned the jolts or screeches that continued to assault the ship beneath them. They'd just hurried their steps. “What am I supposed to see?”

Toph stomped her foot on the deck below—Kuvira felt it distinctly. “You tell me.”

The ship groaned around them as Kuvira touched the wall. “I can feel where Tenzin and Jinora are. All the other crew is moving, but their heartbeats...”

“You can sense their heartbeats?” Asami asked, skeptically.

“Tenzin is leaning against a wall,” Toph said. “Metal conducts sound really well. The question is, Kuvira, what were you thinking to _do_ about it?”

“You can't be thinking to send Kuvira off alone,” Suyin scoffed.

“Nah. I'll go with her. Su, is your metalbending good enough to get the rest of the way out?”

“Of course it is. But, Mother—”

“You need to get to your metalbenders and secure the palace. Wing and Wei, remember? You have to protect family.”

“What about you?”

“What do you think I'm doing?” Toph said, then kicked Kuvira in the shin. “C'mon, woman. Let's save Twinkletoes' family. Again. Stupid airbenders just can't stay saved...”

Kuvira didn't have to see the rest of the group to sense their uncertainty, their puzzlement. She shared it. If Toph could sense Tenzin and Jinora, what did she need Kuvira for?

“Well? Come on!” the old earthbender demanded. Kuvira had no choice but to follow the demand, and take the lead.

 

 

***

 

 

Never in his life had Mako fought so hard for so long against so many. Granted, he was still young, but he'd seen more than his share of combat, what with being in a gang and hanging out with Korra and nearly dying several times over.

Point was, he was exhausted. But they'd pulled dozens of spirits away from fleeing residents, put out a ton of fires, and saved hundreds of lives.

And Tsu Ying and his brother had finally gotten to meet. Sorta.

“So Mako,” Bolin said, earthbending a building's facade to keep it from collapsing, “You're telling me you had to come all the way to Ba Sing Se to find a girl that would date you?”

She laughed behind his other shoulder, warning off a spirit with a spear she'd picked up somewhere. The bandage on her arm had some bleedthrough, but was holding.

Mako sent a wave after that spirit and the smaller ones behind it, sending them scurrying down an alley. “Actually, I met her on the train. She followed _me_.”

“Like a puppy,” Shu said, leaning against a wall to catch his breath.

“I did not!”

Shu snorted as Opal glided to the ground in the middle of the group. “There's no sign of the airship, though the city is so big, it'd be easy to miss.”

“Did you get a view of the palace?” Wei asked.

“Not a good one. There's some smoke there.”

Wei's jaw tightened. He nodded, then returned to fighting, guarding Eska's back as she cleansed some stragglers.

Mako took advantage of the lull. “Bro, I'm happy you are here—and really sorry to miss the wedding, by the way.”

“Oh,” Bolin replied, earth-vaulting away from a gaggle of angry spirits, then springing a wall up between him and a gigantic one's open maw, “I can tell you were a little busy.”

“...but we can't just keep fighting like this. What's the plan to _stop_ it?”

“Well,” Opal said, forming a wind tunnel to buffet spirits away and give the group a respite, “it should all start to calm down after the solstice. Definitely a few days after.”

Mako choked. “A few _days_? That—” A building collapsed on the next street, drowning out what he'd wanted to say. Bolin made walls and Opal directed the debris plume around them. “I don't think the city can last that long.”

“Then we help who we can,” Tsu Ying said, meeting Mako's gaze. “For as long as we can.”

He gave her a stoic nod, squeezing her uninjured shoulder. “For as long as we can.”

“Aww...” Opal cooed.

“Pay attention to the fight, Opal,” Mako said firmly, turning away from Tsu Ying. “Let's go to where that building fell, make sure nobody is hurt.”

“Yes, sir!” Opal said.

“I love when he's commanding,” Tsu Ying murmured to her.

Opal tittered. “Do you now?”

“Not... not like that!”

“No?”

“Guys!” Mako snapped. “The battle?”

Tsu Ying was blushing. Opal stifled a snicker.

Shu shuffled past them. “She likes it,” he said, and Opal clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide and air hissing through her nostrils.

“Guys!” Tsu Ying pleaded. “The city is falling around us. You can't just... joke around!”

“I think everybody needs a little breather,” Bolin said, moving beside his brother and keeping wary eyes around them. “If we collapse from exhaustion, we won't be helping anybody.”

Then, quickly, he gave Mako a soft punch on the shoulder. “ _Nice_ , though.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Still not sure about the beard.”

“I am,” Tsu Ying said.

“Me too,” Opal agreed.

“Well, good to see they're getting along!” Bolin grinned.

“This is too stressful,” Mako said, pushing to his feet. “I'm going back to the fighting with Eska and Wei. We need to keep making our way to the palace.”

“ _Thank_ you,” Tsu Ying said, striding at his side.

“Told you he'd like you,” Mako said, offhand.

Her hand found his, and gave it a squeeze, before taking her spear back up. They returned to the fray.

 

 

***

 

Why did she hate herself?

Korra had thought it terrible before, when she'd been fleeing from a vision of herself, as the Avatar. Herself, as the powerful arbiter of the world's affairs. Herself, somebody who fought and suffered for the world. Expectations she never thought she could live up to again.

Korra had thought it terrible, when she'd been fleeing a vision of Asami, of the woman she loved, saying vicious lies and truths, undermining her every thought, chipping and chipping away at the stability she'd built. Asami, but not the one she thought she knew, making her doubt that she could know anything at all.

But now, to see her die, and die, and die...

Ba Sing Se needed her. The world needed her.

Asami—the real Asami—needed her.

But could she even trust herself to act? Her eyes, her ears, her mind itself was betraying her. Maybe she was the one destroying the city? How would she even know?

“Korra!” a voice said nearby. Young, panicked.

“Go away!” Korra shouted, veering away from Jinora.

The airbender blinked her spirit in front of her. “What was that?!” Jinora asked.

Was this real? Or was she imagining this, too? Someone else she trusted, twisted against her. “How do I know you're real?”

“How do... Korra, that body you saw, what was that? It vanished after you left.”

“Then how did you see it?” Korra hissed, allowing herself to descend lightly onto a rooftop. Jinora followed smoothly, hovering just above the surface—or so it seemed. It was another trick, something else to sabotage herself...

“I don't know _what_ I saw, but that airship is still teetering on top of that building. Asami and our dads are still in there!”

Korra bit her lip, and scanned the skies. She'd seen things that weren't there, seen things in place of things that were there, but she'd never hallucinated an absence. Was that even possible?

She made fists at her side. There was no ship in the sky. Maybe this really was Jinora. Maybe...

She'd never seen more than one false person before. If her dad, and Tenzin, and Asami were all there at once...

Korra turned, and vaulted back to the crash site.

 

 

***

 

 

Nuktik and the others huddled together, out of breath from battling spirits and the storm both, when he realized that rain was not falling on them. All around it still buffeted the spirits, but in the sky directly above, something roiled. Lit only by flashes of lightning, a swarm of dark spirits, too dense for even the storm to pass through.

“You think we can cleanse that?” he said, pointing up at it.

He might have expected a curse, or a gasp. She merely tightened her eyes and her fists. “I don't think we can reach them from here.”

“I would say you've discovered the center of the dark energy, though,” Desna said. “Most likely, Cousin Korra is in the material world, just across the veil.”

“Maybe if two of us boost the other up?” Caluqtiq wondered aloud, shaking her head. Desna covered her mouth, fear widening her eyes.

Nuktik looked around the ground, where spirits both light and dark flitted away. He charged toward them.

“Nuktik!” his family called after.

“I have an idea!” he cried back, not waiting for their reply.

 

 

***

 

 

Metalbenders and crewmen alike were fighting for their lives as the surface of the airship literally swarmed with dark spirits. Korra shot toward it, blood thundering in her ears—had the vision wanted to scare her away, or lure her back? Was what she was seeing even real?

As she watched, a spirit worked its way into one of the airship's engines, and sent it suddenly spinning. The ship lurched to the side, bodies toppling into the air.

Korra gasped, sweeping low and airbending a vortex to slow their descent, depositing everybody into a heap on the street below.

She bounded back upwards, leaping over the ship and tearing the possessed engine clean off.

An engine on the other side exploded. The building beneath crumpled, gave way.

The Avatar gave a wordless shout, straining to earthbend the street up to catch it. Before she could, a swarm of spirits scythed toward her, forcing her to break off. She wove between them, dodging claws and talons and tendrils, slamming into the street, then reaching up to stop the metal and earth plummeting down.

She had to save the ship.

Asami was on it. And Dad, and Tenzin, Jinora and all the others—but her heart screamed one name before all the others.

She _had_ to save the ship. Whatever else happened today, Asami had to survive it.

The mass of spirits descended on Korra, leaving the airship to gravity. Korra waited until the wave of spirits was nearly upon her, then vaulted up on an Earth column, a pulse of fire clearing her the narrowest of gaps through. She pulsed air to her sides to keep them away, then metalbent herself purchase on the underside of the hull.

The spirits were right behind her.

She couldn't slow the ship and fend them off. There were too many. Tears leaked from her glowing eyes. Too many!

Wire coils sprang from the ship around her. Suyin and a cadre of metalbenders swung down, their cables whipping the spirits back.

Korra gasped, using the reprieve for all it was worth. She brought columns of earth up, matching the ship's speed, gently cradling it to the ground... then collapsed onto her side, as soon as the ship had settled.

She knew she couldn't stay that way. She fought, past fatigue, past her overtaxed body, to rise, to keep fighting.

To make sure Asami was okay.

Metalbenders formed a perimeter around the ship, while crewmen staggered out onto solid ground. Korra made it up onto her side, panting heavily, scanning every face that stepped from the ship.

“I'm here!” Asami shouted, charging up from nowhere, taking a knee beside her. She swung the rifle off her shoulder, leveling at a spirit nearby.

“Asami, no!” Korra shouted, reaching up.

Asami fired, her eyes cold.

Korra heard a spirit wail behind her.

“More keep coming!” one of the metalbenders shouted.

Korra shook her head, frozen, as Asami fired again. Barely acknowledging her.

She knew better. Asami knew not to kill spirits. She knew—

“Korra!” Asami said, charging forward into a crouch, beside herself. The rifle swung off her shoulder, levelling at a spirit nearby.

Korra brought a hand beside her face, looking at both Asami's above her.

She was crazy. She was sobbing. Both Asami's looked down, worry on their faces. “I'll keep you safe!” they said.

“Don't...” Korra managed, weakly, barely.

“THERE IT IS!” Jinora shouted nearby. The Asamis looked up in shock.

Korra turned her head, and saw a Water Tribe boy vaulting from a spirit's back, a spray of water leaping off of it and into tendrils around both Asamis.

What... who...

One Asami lowered her weapon, leaping away from the waterbender; the other went rigid, every muscle tight, a snarl on her face and a dark glow in her eyes.

The boy—the one from Kuodan—wove the water tendril around her. Around _it_. The hallucination struggled, pushing against the spiraling tendrils of water, threatening to escape.

“It's real?” Korra breathed.

“A little help?” the boy shrieked, his voice breaking.

It was _real_.

Korra dipped back into the Avatar state for one last burst of energy, rolling onto her knees—enough to move her arms. She joined the boy's form, solidifying the spiral around the apparition.

“Noooo...” it hissed, swinging the rifle up toward the boy.

A shot rang out—and the spirit's hand burst apart where Asami—the real Asami, the only Asami—had shot it.

The spirit growled, wordlessly, the glow of cleansing working its way up, as its hair writhed against its bonds.

The world around them stopped. The air itself caught its breath. As the last sliver of the _thing_ that had worn Asami's face turned to light, it did not dissolve into motes, as would any other spirit.

It collapsed like a thunderclap.

The spiritual backlash yanked every spirit within sight into sudden transparency. In a flash, enough to blind her, each and every one of them burst into motes, and rose to the sky.

Korra and Asami locked eyes. “What was that?!” Asami asked, breathless.

Korra laughed, once, then passed out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, as always (though I may not always remember to say it!) to wordcatchers, cdfish, perishingshards, and riledup for various forms of assistance! 
> 
> So, during my Great Winter 65000 word Write-a-thon, this was the last chapter I got to, and I didn't QUITE finish it. I had it about 85% done when I ran into my semester, and wasn't able to work on it until after. I'VE BEEN SITTING ON THIS FOR MONTHS, GUYS. 
> 
> That was so, so painful! I'm glad I finally get to share it!
> 
> EVERYTHING collides in the explosive action finale... but does everything resolve? (No. No it quite clearly does not.)


	32. I'm Here

The glow washed over the whole of Ba Sing Se, and when it faded, Mako had to blink for a moment to readjust his eyes. Millions of motes flitted up into the evening sky, fading into the emerging stars.

The spirits—all of them—were gone.

Tsu Ying's fingers twined with his, her head turned up to watch it too. “Looks like your ex figured something out.”

“She always does,” he said, squeezing Tsu Ying's hand. He scanned the area around them, not ready to let down his guard.

“Do you mean Korra, or Asami?” Bolin asked, behind them.

Mako glanced at his brother. “I... assume the spirits are more of a Korra problem. But Asami's here, too?”

“Man, _everybody_ is here!” Bolin said.

“It's practically the entire guest list from our wedding,” Opal added.

Mako winced. “Opal... I'm really sorry—”

“It's been postponed,” Opal said, waving the concern away. "And as far as it goes, a revolt and spirit invasion breaking out around you is a pretty good excuse not to make it.”

He sighed, looking at the ruins around them. The destruction wasn't as complete as Republic City's after Kuvira, but the sheer scope of it, in a city this large... “As tired as we all are, the city is still on edge. I think the spirit attack took the steam out of the revolt, but the tensions are still there. The RLF still want revenge for Torru; they're never going to forgive the Imperial faction for that.”

“I'm sorry,” Bolin said, “but what wants revenge against the who now?”

He looked at Bolin and Opal's confused faces. Right... “The Red Lotus faction was led by this rabble-rouser named Torru, who has been trying to destabilize things here for months. He finally managed to blow things up by manipulating some Kuvira loyalists into assassinating him.”

“Him...self?” Opal asked, as Bolin's mouth worked.

“Wait!” Tsu Ying interjected. “Wait... no, that's not what happened at all.”

Mako frowned. “Tsu Ying, you were... you got an idea.”

“I got an idea. Get Shu and the others. We're going to need as many bodies over as wide an area as we can. And we're going to need some civilian clothes.”

“Why?” Bolin asked, as Opal ran to gather their group.

Mako thought ahead. “Misinformation?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Misdirection. Like the map at the gas station.”

Mako smirked, then he kissed her, then he turned to the others as they approached. “We have a plan.”

 

 

***

 

 

“This one's empty,” Jinora said, pointing at a little house she'd found on a quiet street, close to the airship crash.

Asami hurried to the door, picking the lock in just a few seconds that felt like forever. Behind her, Tonraq held Korra, unconscious, in his arms.

“I saw a well, nearby,” Nuktik said. “I'll fetch water.”

Asami didn't know who this kid was, or where he'd come from before he'd saved Korra from that... _thing_ with her face. But she was beyond thrilled to have a healer on hand, and Tonraq and Jinora recognized him. She trusted their appraisal.

Right now, she'd take anybody's help if they could do something for Korra. Or at least, tell Asami what was going on.

They moved inside the house, looking for a tub first, but failing that, moving into a bedroom where Tonraq could lay Korra flat. He looked over her again, as if whatever this was may have left some physical mark. Asami paced behind him.

“Her spirit feels... healthy, but shaky,” said Jinora, floating at the foot of the bed. “I think, when she and Nuktik cleansed Vaatu, it must've shocked her system.”

“Vaatu?” Asami and Tonraq said at once. Asami added, “But it looked like me! Once he started cleansing it, I could see it glowing there, just like you are, and it looked _just_ like me!” And it had had one of her rifles. Or had it? Would it have worked, if she hadn't blasted it away?

“Oh, Asami... he's been tormenting Korra through the whole battle, probably for months before from the sound of it. I could only see it because I'm spirit projecting. I think he was trying to break Korra's mind.”

Asami's knees felt weak. She reached behind her, found something to lean against, to keep from pitching over herself.

This whole time. The last six months, Vaatu himself had been poisoning Korra toward her.

How could she not have noticed? Why hadn't Korra told her?

How could she have bared to face Asami at all?

Tonraq knelt beside the bed, gently stroking Korra's hair away from her face. “How did this happen?”

“This is my fault,” Jinora breathed. “I should have realized, Vaatu had nowhere to go but where he began. Joined to Raava. We could have been preparing for this for years.”

“Everyone missed it,” Nuktik said, coming back into room with a globule of water floating behind him. “Even Korra herself. Chief Tonraq, could you hold this?”

Tonraq took control of the water, leaving Nuktik with enough to cover his hands. He pressed them against Korra's temples, his eyes closed.

Asami closed her eyes too. How could she have been blind to this? Had Vaatu been working against her, ever since Harmonic Convergence? But she'd seemed so solid then, healthy and centered. Until Zaheer...

“I can't believe Vaatu has been whispering to her for four years,” Tonraq said, his voice dripping with as much guilt as Asami felt.

“I...” she said, her voice more hoarse than she'd expected. She and Tonraq looked at each other, both seeing their own worry reflected. “I don't think it's as simple as that. Vaatu was probably weak, at first. But... Korra has had... episodes, sometimes. Where everything that happened with Zaheer would rush back at once. I've read about how survivors from war or disasters keep reliving their traumas. I think... maybe Vaatu was using that to get to her.”

“A crack in her defenses...” Tonraq muttered.

“At least we know now,” Nuktik said. “I'm not sure why she was hiding it, but—”

“Of course she was hiding it!” Asami snapped. “Can you imagine how terrified she must've been? How much support she needed? How... how...”

“Asami,” Tonraq said, soothingly.

She swallowed. “...sorry...” she breathed, pressing her arms against her gut.

Nuktik, at least, didn't seem hurt. He was too focused, his probing moving down Korra's throat, to her chest. “We know, now. And if Vaatu tries to use Korra's condition to manifest again, we can just cleanse it.”

“It's much worse than that,” Jinora said, chewing her lip. “We all want Korra to get better, but Vaatu isn't just attacking her. He's part of her. He's part of the Avatar, now.”

“She's strong, though. Surely, her and Raava, together, can hold him back?”

“She can't be strong all the time,” Asami said, finally moving over, kneeling beside Tonraq, taking Korra's hand. “We can't leave her like this.”

“That's... that's not the worst of it,” Jinora said. “For ten thousand years, no Avatar has ever become a tyrant, has ever abused their power. They haven't always been successful, but the Avatar has never been _evil_. But what happens next? What happens when Korra—”

“Don't even talk like...” Asami began, incredulity stealing her words.

“Vaatu would influence the cycle,” Nuktik said, leaning over Tonraq to feel Korra's heart. “From birth on, you'd have Vaatu whispering in the new Avatar's mind, just like Raava does.”

“What's always been a force for good will just become... a force,” Jinora said. “Doing whatever they want. All that trust, the reliance the world has on the Avatar's innate goodness... it'll be perverted. Korra... Korra might be the last Avatar anyone can trust, and she can't even trust her own mind.”

“Jinora,” Asami said firmly, “you're not helping.”

She blinked. “I just...”

“We can talk about your concerns later,” Tonraq said, more conciliatory but just as firmly. “For now, you helped save her. Let us keep her safe.”

“I... right.” Jinora looked away, arm straight down her side, her other hand across to rub her elbow. “I'll go... check on the rest of the city.”

Asami let out a breath as Jinora blinked away.

Something moved against her back, and Asami jerked, startled. It was just Tonraq's arm, reaching across her shoulder. Holding her.

“We'll figure something out,” he said. “We'll fix this.”

Asami nodded weakly, her hands still gripping Korra's.

Why hadn't she told her?

 

 

***

 

 

Wing huddled against the back of the closet they'd chased him into, earthbending the doorframe sideways so the door would stick. He tore robes from their hangers to give himself enough freedom of movement to fight back.

This was bad. Inevitable, maybe—as tired as he'd gotten, and as many RLF were crawling around, he was bound to slip up somewhere. Worse that it was against one of the earthbenders on their side.

At least, the longer he ran, the more time he took from them hunting down civilians. Which... alright, technically, he was a civilian too, but that was beside the point!

The door shattered inward just as Wing knocked the floor away under himself, dropping him onto a rack full of dresses and shoes. He bounded out of that closet as the earthbender followed, sending a stone toward his head to slow him down.

Wing burst out into the corridor, and was immediately entangled by a metal cable. He fell hard on his chin.

“Wait!” somebody called, running up to kneel beside him. Fingers tilted his head up.

“Mom?”

“Oh!” his mother choked, bending the coils loose and drawing him into a tight hug. “My boy...” she pulled back, holding his biceps, looking him in the eyes. “Which one are you? Wing?”

He rolled his eyes. “Glad to see you, too.” He glanced the way he'd come, saw Zaofu guards wrapping up the earthbender that had been after him, and let out a relieved sigh. “Have you taken control of the whole palace?”

“We're sweeping through as fast as we can. What happened here? Where are all the delegates?”

She tried to withdraw from the embrace, but he wasn't ready yet. “We saved as many as we could,” he said, hardly believing it was over. Relief bubbled up through the skepticism, tiny laughs against his mother's shoulder. “Wu's protecting them.”

“Wu.” It wasn't a question, so much as a statement of disbelief.

Wing's relieved laughter wanted to turn into relieved sobs, but he couldn't. Not just yet. “Yeah, I guess I've got something to tell you, too. But later. First I should show you where everybody is hiding. And then, I'm gonna sleep for a week.”

 

 

***

 

 

“Ho, there!”

“Ugh, what now?” Lin muttered to herself as the jeep approached. It was two, maybe three hours after the spirits had all vanished, and she and Kya had continued their circuit of the Outer Ring, pacifying rioters and army units both and organizing them together. Hopefully, the pattern had kept rippling the other way too, because there was no way the two of them were going to cover the whole Outer Ring on foot.

The jeep pulled to a stop, a man in the back seat stepping out. “You seem to have a mob of soldiers and civilians following you. And not fighting each other.”

Lin glanced back. It had taken hardly any time at all for cooperation in the face of shared disaster got everybody on the same team, for the duration of the night, at least. “Yeah, they're not all so bad, once we shook some sense into them. Lin Beifong, RC... from Republic City. I hitched a ride with the Avatar. I see the soldiers behind you.” No civilians, but that didn't necessarily mean anything bad. “You the commander in charge of this area?”

He shook his head. “I suppose that is all I can claim at the moment. Governor-General Jing. I got caught out here when all this started. We managed to keep this quadrant of the Outer Ring under control, but the rest of the city has been cut off. You came with the Avatar—I take it she got rid of the spirits?”

Lin shrugged. “We came with a lot of people. Korra was probably involved, but some of the best benders in the world are here, too. This whole area is secure, you said?”

Jing nodded.

“Finally, a break!” Kya said, stepping up behind Lin and leaning theatrically on her shoulder. “General, since we just saved a big chunk of your city, I'd say the least you could do is offer us a couple of seats in that jeep. My feet are killing me.”

Lin rolled her eyes, but led Kya past the general before he could think of a reply. “We probably have some things to discuss,” Lin told him.

“What should we do?” one of the soldiers from Lin's force asked. It wasn't clear who he was addressing.

“Protect the people,” Lin said. “I swear, why does everyone get so confused about it?”

“But... how long?”

“There's an army on the way to help,” Kya shouted, then let out a happy sigh as she sat.

“An army?” the soldier asked.

“Whose?” Asked Jing.

Lin shrugged, taking a seat next to her girlfriend. “Ours. More or less. Like I said, there's things we need to discuss. Hop in.”

Jing chuckled at being offered a seat in his own jeep, and joined them.

 

 

***

 

 

Nuktik clenched his jaw to keep from yawning, focusing on the water he was applying to his patient's burned arm. After Vaatu's cleansing had sucked all the negative spiritual energy out of the city, and after he'd done what he could for the Avatar, there was still more than enough healing to do, and never enough people to do it. “How is that feeling?”

She sighed relief. “It doesn't feel like anything. The pain is... thank you, miss! Do you think it will scar?”

Nuktik winced, but didn't have the fight in him to acknowledge it. “It might, just a little. But a lot less than if it had healed naturally.”

Somebody walked up behind him. He gestured vaguely to his right, saying, “There's an empty bed over there.” Nuktik had been too late to save the man on it; he'd seen volunteers move the body off while he was healing a severed leg, six or seven patients ago. “I'll come as soon as I can.”

“Nuktik,” the volunteer nurse said, “there's somebody here to see you. Please, at least take a break and go talk to them. Just a break?”

He turned toward where the nurse was pointing, and saw Tenzin standing in the doorway of the makeshift hospital. “Okay, okay,” Nuktik said, grudgingly. They'd been trying to pry him away from patients for the last... hour? Two? What time _was_ it?

Tenzin smiled as he approached, fatigue clear in his eyes. Nuktik managed not to stare at his scars. If only he'd been a little faster, in Kuodan... “You've been at this all night?” Tenzin asked.

“Is it morning?” Nuktik asked, squinting past him out the door. “I guess so.”

Tenzin put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on. You need to rest.”

“But...” Nuktik opened his mouth, gesturing at all the groaning people around him. “...no.”

“Nuktik,” Tenzin repeated, warmly. “I'm sure you have a few patients left to treat already, but you can't run yourself ragged. You already rode a spirit across the barrier between worlds and saved the whole city, and that was hours ago. You're having as much trouble standing as I do.”

“But... I can do more. I have to keep working, I—”

“I know just what you are going to say,” Tenzin said, then chuckled. “I couldn't help pacify the city. I couldn't even get out of the airship myself, without Toph's help. But I'm still alive—thanks to you—and I needed to find something to do. I spent the whole night, organizing relief efforts, becoming the central hub of information, because it felt like all I was good for, and I had to do _something_.” He gave Nuktik a meaningful look.

Nuktik nodded. “Why did you stop?”

“Because I was starting to lose energy. Loathe as I was to admit it, I was spent, but even then I didn't want to go when Suyin forcibly relieved me. And, more to the point, she told me that a certain exceptional young man needed to be convinced to rest, and there was nobody else in the city he knows.”

Nuktik's head sagged. “How am I supposed to sleep, when I don't know if my mom and Desna are okay? At least... at least here, I've got something to distract myself with.”

Tenzin put a hand on Nuktik's shoulder. “Your mother is a strong and courageous woman, and Chief Desna is quite capable. I'm sure they have found their way to safety by now. Though if you wish, we could find Jinora, and see if she could check on them for you.”

“That... I wouldn't want to bother her...”

“After what you did in Kuodan, my family owes you a debt. I know Jinora has wished she could have properly thanked you, at the time; this will give her the opportunity. Will you at least promise to rest, once we've found her?”

Reluctantly, Nuktik nodded.

Tenzin smiled, and led him outside.

 

 

***

 

 

Tonraq sat beside the door of the small apartment they'd commandeered. He had a clear view of the street, and anybody who might approach, but given everything that had gone on, the street was eerily quiet. Occasional motors or marching troops echoed through the neighborhoods, but this pocket of the city had, somehow, gone largely untouched.

That's why they'd picked it.

It came as a surprise, then, when a woman not much younger than he appeared at one end of the street, walking purposefully toward him. A pouch was slung over her shoulder.

Tonraq frowned, and stood. He watched her approach with his arms crossed. “Good morning,” he said, while she was still forty feet away. He felt for the water bucket he'd set up nearby—hardly elegant, but he wanted to have some weapon handy, just in case.

The woman slowed, but did not stop. “Chief Tonraq?”

He stared at her impassively.

“I'm Tenni. Asami Sato's assistant.”

“If that's true... who did you contact on Air Temple Island when you found out where my daughter was?”

She rolled her eyes. “Kai. A very polite boy who brought me sweet rolls the next day. Can I come closer?”

Tonraq nodded, relaxing. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm looking for Korra,” she said, fishing in her bag. “Is she here?”

Tonraq recrossed his arms.

Tenni sighed. “At least tell me if Asami is with her?”

“They've both been through a lot,” Tonraq said. “I won't see them disturbed.”

“Trust me, that's the last thing I want.” Tenni pulled a wrapped bundle out of her bag, and presented it to him. “Can I at least give this to you to GIVE to your daughter? Presuming you know where she is?”

Tonraq frowned at the package as she handed it over. “What is it?”

Tenni sighed. “About six months of heartbreak. They're letters. Asami spent the whole time since Kuodan trying to get in contact with your daughter, and apparently she picked a particularly dogged courier who kept trying to catch up with Korra even as more letters kept catching up with them. The courier's boss finally called it a loss and sent them back, but by then, Asami had left town.”

Tonraq pursed his lips. “I'm... I can't say as I'm sure where the girls are, right now.”

Tenni raised an eyebrow, glancing at the house behind him.

“Emotionally.”

“Ah.”

“But... do you really think giving these letters over will help? They've been talking.”

Tenni smiled at that. “Good. And I don't know how Korra will respond. I haven't read them. But I've been with Miss Sato for a long time, she's not _just_ a boss to me.” To have traveled across the continent just to hand some letters over? Apparently not. “These past six months have been devastating for her, and I think all the emotions she poured onto those pages deserve to be heard. Maybe she and Korra have already discussed it, maybe they've already made up and this whole trip was useless, but...” she sighed. “I just want to see Asami smiling again, like she used to.”

Tonraq nodded. Asami had excellent taste in subordinates. “I'll make sure it gets to Korra.”

“Great!” Tenni said, then looked around. “So... since I'm here, anything I could do to help?”

Tonraq chuckled, and told her how to get to the palace and who to look for. If she'd been able to track them this far, this quickly, she was certainly capable enough to find something to do. Once she'd left and was out of sight, he sat back on the stool, and watched, and waited.

 

***

 

 

Korra ran.

Her feet blistered and bled against the rocky soil. Skeletal trees loomed around, branches clawing at the air, their shadows twisting in the twilight dark.

Something pursued her. She didn't see it, didn't hear it, but she _knew_. If she stopped, if she ever stopped, it would be upon her.

She couldn't run forever.

But how could she fight?

She'd fought before. She'd even won—she'd thought. And yet, it never ended. It kept coming.

Ahead of her, glimpsed through the trees, was the open maw of the Tree of Time. She hurled herself towards it, bounding over root and rock, but it never got an inch closer.

Whispers carried over the wind, with the scent of smoke and blood.

Forms kept pace alongside her, terrible silhouettes that she knew at a glance. Amon's unflappable stare through his expressionless mask. Unalaq, braids coursing like tendrils, eyes glowing crimson. Zaheer, his body horizontal as he flew between the trees.

They weren't real, but they were there. Always at the edge of her vision. Inescapable.

They weren't what she was running from.

Suddenly, the trees parted. The sky cleared, and the world around her was warm. The specters from her past circled her still, but the force behind her, that terror, was suddenly just... gone.

But why did her sense of dread remain?

The Tree of Time remained on the horizon, within sight but stubbornly unreachable. Cautiously, though, Korra turned, and looked back the way she'd come.

The forest was clear and still.

She stared, a long time, not quite able to believe it, but nothing moved. But, just as she turned, _something_ , a glimmer, on the far horizon.

Korra shielded her eyes, squinting, straining to make out any detail.

Far off, but far too close, one of the shadows began to writhe.

Korra woke up with Asami's arms around her.

She trembled—she didn't know where she was, what time it was, how she'd gotten here. A thin line of light streamed under the door, illuminating a room she'd never seen in her life.

But she was with Asami. Somehow...

Was it real? How could it be?

Was she dreaming?

Had she died?

In a burst, Korra remembered—the double vision, the Water Tribe boy, the apparition that had been tormenting her cleansed away before her eyes...

Korra had seen Asami die dozens of times. If she turned, would Asami really be there? Could those warm breaths against her neck be a lie?

Asami moaned blearily, shifting. Awake.

Korra turned within her arms, her throat tight. Asami was there, really there, really Asami.

Let this be real.

Please... please let this be.

Asami took one long, trembling look into Korra's eyes. Then she craned her neck forward, and softly, ever so lovingly, gave her a kiss.

She felt herself sobbing. So long... it had been so long. This was Asami. Whatever else had happened, whatever it was she'd been seeing, _this_ was Asami. Her Asami.

Korra kissed her back, clutching the hair behind Asami's ears, desperate, not sure she'd ever let go. The last day, the last week, the last six months, her entire life—it bore down on her, always. Pressure. All the things she needed to be. Everything that was needed of her.

Right now, right this moment... none of that mattered. None of that was real. Nothing was real but Asami, and where Asami touched her, and how much she needed it.

Asami withdrew from the kiss, tracing along the edge of Korra's face. Korra still clung to Asami's head, pleading, though she didn't know what for.

Asami looked into Korra's eyes. Asami looked into Korra.

Asami saw.

Korra looked away. There were so many things to talk about. So many things to say. To explain. Korra's visions. Asami's guns. Korra's fear for her own future. Asami's insecurities. How could they even begin? After everything that happened, everything still happening in the world...

Fingers pushed up against Korra's chin. Asami's lips brushed hers again, recapturing her gaze. Asami saw Korra, more deeply now than anybody ever had.

And Asami didn't look away.

She rolled Korra onto her back, shifting gently, bringing her lips to Korra's temple. What had Asami seen? What was she going to do?

Her hands took Korra's wrist, gently pulling Korra's hand forward, never letting Korra's fingers leave her skin as she brought them toward her lips. Korra's knuckles traced Asami's cheek as her hand was turned, and each finger received a kiss—the fingertips, then each joint, then the knuckles. The back of her hand, then her wrist, then Asami uncurled Korra's fingers, kissed Korra's palm, and nuzzled it against her cheek.

Korra was trembling, feeling the warmth of Asami beneath her palm. Did Asami really have no questions? Was she really over everything that had happened, these past six months? Just like that?

Was this really happening?

Asami heard her worries, and leaned down to kiss her, more deeply than before. Warmth filled her. Korra kissed back, clutching Asami's arms as if she might vanish in an instant.

Weren't they still fighting? Wasn't Asami still hurt?

Asami's hand moved, clutching Korra's shoulders as the kiss intensified. Then, her fingertips crept up and back, dipping beneath Korra's shirt so they could follow the skin to her neck.

Korra's breath caught. The kiss paused at once, and again, Asami looked into her eyes.

There were no accusations. No demands in Asami's gaze. Her eyes had the same look they'd had when she'd sat with Korra after Varrick's wedding. The same look they'd had at their reunion after three years. The same look they'd had when Asami had knelt by her side, and promised to be there for Korra, for anything.

The look held the same entreaty it always had: Korra, tell me what you need.

Korra surged forward, her arms wrapping around Asami as she kissed her breath away. Asami fell against her, heat building between their lips, beneath their fingers. Her hands moved with speed and precision, unfastening Korra's shirt, filthy from the day before.

Asami loved her.

...Korra shifted her weight to help Asami remove her shirt...

In spite of everything.

...the pelt around her waist, and everything below it...

 _Because_ of everything.

...the bindings around Korra's chest...

Asami loved her. She was here, and she was real, and now every bit of Asami Sato was bare, was moving, was asking Korra the same question her eyes had.

Korra, what do you need?

It wasn't a fluke. It wasn't an accident, or a mistake.

It wasn't something she'd imagined.

Every beat of Asami's heart, every breath to escape her lips as they ran across Korra's skin, every caress, every flick, every curl and every stroke: Korra, is this what you need?

Korra shuddered, and clawed, and gasped for air. She kissed Asami's shoulder, sucked on her neck, took in every bit she could of the woman that loved her, everything she could to reassure herself that she was worth loving.

Korra had pushed Asami away by thinking she was perfect. But in a way, Asami had done the same thing, not knowing how fragile Korra could be, not really.

Now, they'd seen each other.

Now, they'd seen themselves.

Asami pressed against her, atop her, within her. Korra tensed, whimpering, and caught a desperate look in Asami's eye.

Korra, please, please tell me what you need!

The sheer intensity sent Korra over the edge, rattling the bed against the wall as she shook. Asami didn't let up, twisting her head down to Korra's breast, biting in just the way and just the time to make a scream catch in Korra's throat.

She knew the real Asami Sato. Not the perfect, hyper-competent vision she'd conjured, nearly as false as the visions had been.

This woman, the woman that held her as her spasms finally subsided... she was scared, and uncertain. She put her all into helping others, desperate for somebody to notice her, appreciate her, maybe even help her in return. Afraid she didn't deserve it.

Korra hadn't even caught her breath, before she pushed Asami back, so they were both sitting up. There was shock on her face, uncertainty. What did I do wrong?

Asami wasn't perfect.

But she was the most amazing woman in the world. And as long as she loved Korra, Korra was going to do everything in her power to make her believe it.

Korra moved against Asami with all the confidence she'd lacked, six months ago. Relief washed over Asami's face, but concern quickly returned. Again: is this what you need? I can wait. You've been though so much—

Asami could read her with a glance, accurately as she could a blueprint. But she wasn't prepared for the fact that, finally, someone could read her back. She took Asami's hand, and pressed it to her chest, against her still-racing heart.

She looked deep into Asami's eyes. Saw all the trepidation. The nervous energy. Asami bit her lip, her mind racing. Ready to act, to take charge, to make things right... but not sure what she needed to do.

It's okay, Korra said with her eyes. Words were too small for the moment. Words had betrayed Asami too many times. But each of Korra's touches, every glance and caress, sent Asami the reassurance that Korra couldn't have found words for if you'd given her a month, or a year, or three.

Korra leaned close, their noses nearly touching.

It's not on you to make everything better. She squeezed Asami's fingers—I'm here, too.

Korra leaned up, kissing Asami between her eyes, then sat back.

If you can't fix it, I can.

Asami smiled, breathing through a laugh, shaking her head. Overwhelmed.

Korra took control, gently pushing Asami back, giving herself room between Asami's legs. Maybe she hadn't quite figured this out before she'd left, but damned if she wasn't going to figure it out now.

Fingers curled in her hair as she began. Her tongue worked, her hands ran to all the places she knew drove Asami mad, but her eyes stayed focused.

Asami's head lolled back, her hands moving from Korra's head, over her own body. Korra's hands followed them, where she could reach, and as Asami's breathing grew more and more ragged, her lidded glances at Korra kept checking she was still there, still for her, only for her.

Korra wanted this. Korra _needed_ this. Korra needed Asami to know how important she was, feel it with every flick and twist of her tongue.

She seemed to get the message; she took Korra's hand from her side, straightened one finger, and maneuvered it firmly and precisely where she needed it. Korra thrilled, taking the cue and shifting her weight so she could run with it. Within moments, Asami's chest was rising erratically as her control collapsed, barely covering her own mouth in time to muffle her cries.

It was all Korra could do not to grin. The flush on Asami's cheeks, the languid weight in her limbs as she came back down... Asami deserved all that, and more. Her needs _were_ Korra's needs, and she had to make sure Asami knew that, felt it, to her very core.

With a tug whose gentleness came more from exhaustion than intent, Asami guided Korra's head up. She took the hint, crawling to lay against her. Asami eyed Korra thankfully, glowingly... but still with a hint of skepticism.

Korra wrapped Asami in her arms, taking a moment to brush the hair from her flushed, slightly-sweaty face. Their eyes locked, and the question in Asami's eyes was gone, was changed. The uncertainty had been replaced with a flickering, hopeful ember, an echo of their time in the Spirit World, of their nights in their apartment, those few short weeks they'd had before everything had fallen apart.

Asami's arms tightened around Korra, a weak, a trembling smile crossing her face. You're really here, aren't you?

Korra held her close. I really am.

For the first time in months, Korra and Asami were both precisely where they needed to be.

 

 

***

 

 

Korra desperately, desperately wished to spend a mere thousand years or so with Asami curled up beside her. Her breathing was light, regular, warm against Korra's bare shoulder. Korra had spent a long while, gently running her fingers through Asami's hair—as fallible and human as she realized Asami was, _that_ , at least, was still unquestionably perfect.

Unfortunately, Korra finally had to surrender a long but unwinnable battle against her bladder. Gently, ever so carefully, Korra wriggled out of Asami's arms, leaving a pillow in her place, and slithered to the edge of the bed.

She sat there, her feet on the ground, but turned, and just... watched her. Sleep. Breathe. Be.

Things weren't completely solved between them. They still had issues to talk about, not limited to what had happened beside the airship.

But they weren't running from each other anymore.

Asami was peacefully slumbering, and Korra would move mountains to make sure nobody disturbed her.

Finally, though, she threw on her pants and Asami's jacket and snuck out to make use of the facilities—and figure out where they were.

It seemed to be a small, Ba Sing Se house, in good repair, but old. The electrical wires were all strung along the walls, and, like some other parts of the old Earth Kingdom Korra had been through, there was still no actual plumbing to speak of. Still, it served.

Padding around the house afterwards, wondering whose it was, she noticed the front door, open just a crack. Curious... whoever had brought them here couldn't possibly have left them alone...

She poked her head out, and her dad turned in his stool to see the movement. “Korra,” he said, a chuckle in his eye to see what she was wearing. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she said, blushing but stepping out to stand with him. “How's the city?”

“Seems like things are dying down,” he said, pulling a package out from under his stool, and considering it. “Is Asami awake?”

Korra shook her head, curious. “What's that?”

Dad looked at Korra again, at Asami's jacket on her. “Letters.” He held them toward her. “They took a while to catch up with you, apparently.”

Korra took them, hesitating. “You... were considering not giving them to me, weren't you?”

He stood, and wrapped his arms around her. “Only for a moment. If things have gotten... better, between you two, those letters might only open old wounds. But... they're not mine to keep.”

She nodded in his embrace, holding the letters against herself. “You sure they don't need us out there?”

“They're making do,” Dad said, letting her loose. “Do _you_ need anything?”

She smiled, glancing toward the bedroom. “Not... not at the moment. Thanks.”

He squeezed her shoulder, and she turned to step back inside.

But she stopped in the door. “Dad... do you... do you know anything about what happened to me?”

He didn't react, which was worse than frowning. “Maybe you should rest—”

“Dad.”

He sighed, and nodded, and told her. About Nuktik and Jinora's conversation, about how Vaatu was inside her, how Vaatu was using her own mind against her, how Vaatu was now bound to the Avatar Spirit itself.

Like her father a moment before, Korra didn't react, letting the information wash over her. Some of it made so much sense, she may have already suspected it. But the ramifications... the Avatar cycle itself...

“I... thank you, for telling me,” Korra said. “At least, Vaatu is weak right now. We'll figure something out.”

“Of course we will,” he said, confidently, but there was worry in his eyes. That same quiet worry that she'd seen for close to three years.

She made herself smile for him, and stepped back inside.

It was a lot to process. There had been times, moments, she'd thought the world might be better off with a new Avatar. Whether that was her own mind whispering that, or Vaatu, or both, was impossible to say, but now? Whoever came after her would be condemned to Vaatu's torments, without the strength or training or support she'd had for 18 years before he'd joined with her.

Was that going to be her legacy? Her real legacy?

And the weight in her hands. The letters.

Vaatu was a massive problem. He'd have to be a priority. But right now, just this moment... she couldn't deal with it. The letters, though...

She found a well lit place to sit, and started reading.

For six months, while that vision had been whispering in her mind, this was what the real Asami, the true Asami had felt. Scared. Confused. Angry.

Alone.

After reading each, Korra stopped, tried to think of where she'd been at the time, what she'd been doing. Feeling. What she would have said, if she'd gotten Asami's letter then. Her throat tightened as the letters got more curt, then accusatory... then, suddenly, more formal. Her calligraphy had gotten progressively messier until the short note, only a few sentences long, but then it became precise. Practiced. How many versions of these letters did she write, before deciding which to send? What kept her sending them still?

She saw Asami's heart breaking, page by page, as her language became more poetic. Asami's final letter left her holding back tears. She wanted to rush back into the bedroom, grab Asami's hands, apologize to here then and there.

Instead...

Instead, Korra searched the house, and turned up some paper and an inkwell.

She began to write.

 

 

***

 

 

Asami had drifted to sleep in Korra's arms, and had hoped to drift back into consciousness the same way. The bed was empty, but the door was open, and she could see Korra slumped over a desk in the next room, writing something.

Asami crossed her arms, watching Korra quietly. She was wearing Asami's coat, which made her heart pound more than she would've expected. They hadn't spoken a word all night, yet they'd said so much. Had it been enough, though?

And given the situation with Vaatu...

She wrapped the blanket around herself, rising and crossing the small house.

Korra turned, smiling at her, but her eyes... she was worried about something. “Are you okay?” Asami asked.

Korra set whatever she was writing aside, rising and wrapping Asami in her arms. “Dad's outside. He told me... told me about Vaatu.”

Asami held her, both hands wrapped around Korra's head. “We'll figure something out. We'll get him out of you.”

“How? And even if we could, then he'd just be free to wreak havoc again.”

“Korra—”

“I need to think,” she said, loosening the embrace, but keeping hold of Asami's arms. “I need... whatever happened, right now, he's at his weakest. Could you do me a favor?”

Asami squeezed Korra's hands. Do you even need to ask?

Korra nodded. “Go get Tenzin, and Jinora. Eska should know about spirits. Kya... Nuktik, too, he seems to know what's going on. Is his mother around?”

Asami shook her head. “Not that I know of. What are you thinking?”

“I'm thinking I need help,” Korra said with a weak laugh. “I'm thinking... it's past time I stop trying to shoulder all this alone.”

Asami leaned in and kissed her. “Then I'm going to make sure you have all the help in the world.”

Korra grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her back. In spite of the situation, Asami couldn't help but smile from the force of it. Finally, though, Asami withdrew from the kiss, and said, “I'm gonna need my jacket back, though.”

 

 

***

 

 

Korra had scarcely finished the final version of her letter when Asami returned. Jinora held the door for Tenzin, while Eska and Nuktik followed. Asami spoke quietly with Tonraq, arguing for a moment before pulling him inside with the rest of the group.

She signed Asami's name to the envelope, then stood. “Hi, everyone,” she said. “Um... there's a little yard in the back, I think it might be nicer if we all sat out there.”

“Why should it be nicer to speak outdoors?” Eska asked as everybody filed out.

“Most people don't live where being outside would kill you,” Nuktik replied, tiredly.

“I couldn't find Kya,” Asami said, taking Korra's hand.

Korra nodded, watching the others pass. It was a big city, and she and Lin had been in the Outer Ring last she'd seen them.

Asami's thumb traced the back of Korra's hand. “Whatever happens, I'm here for you. Maybe spirit problems aren't my area of expertise, but...”

Korra brought Asami's hand up, pressing it against her chest. “I need you here. I won't hide, or send you away.”

Asami bit her lip, but nodded, allowing Korra to lead her out.

Everybody was waiting for them in the walled-off garden. Tenzin had found a bench to settle onto, while everyone else stood, waiting. Jinora smiled at Korra and Asami's held hands, then elbowed Eska. The waterbender rolled her eyes, then pulled a few yuans out of her robes to hand over.

“Everyone,” Korra said, “we have a problem. Several, actually. I'm not sure what we can do about it, but for the moment, I wanted to keep the group as small as we can. And most of you know something about spirits. Hopefully together, we can figure a way out of this.”

Everybody nodded, though Nuktik looked nervous. “Are you okay?” Korra asked.

Nuktik nodded. “Yeah... though it's a little surreal, being here with so many important world leaders. Though I've met a few, at this point...”

“We all know each other,” Tonraq chuckled, leaning against the garden wall. “Or we're related.”

“That's true...” Nuktik said, still fidgeting. “So... I just hope nobody will be mad at me for asking the Avatar some questions. I helped heal her before, but there's some things that might help to know. And if we're gonna be talking about the Vaatu situation, everyone here should probably know about them too.”

Korra looked at Asami, caught Asami looking at her. “Go ahead,” Korra said. “I trust everybody here. And it's not like you don't all know my brain's busted.”

Asami tilted her head, half-scolding. “Korra...”

“While I might not... state it that way,” Tenzin said, “there is no shame in admitting it. It isn't merely your body that has suffered, and while the wounds to that were long in healing, wounds to the spirit and the mind take longer still.”

Korra took a breath. “I... yeah, I know. I... look, we can spare the pep-talks for now. Nuktik, what do you want to know?”

He looked at her, pushing through his discomfort. “What have you seen, that you know wasn't there?”

She closed her eyes, and took a breath. Asami put an arm around her shoulder, entwining her other hand with Korra's.

“That I'm sure of... there was a vision of myself, in the Avatar state, like I was the day I fought Zaheer. Then Asami, with one of those rifles.”

Nuktik nodded.

“That's interesting,” Jinora said. “Vaatu, from what I've read, tends to manipulate through desire, and flattery. Promising things you want. But those sound like... well, they sound like your insecurities. Things you were afraid of. Curious it was yourself, and not Zaheer... ”

“Nuktik...” Korra said, daring to hope while scolding herself not to, “do you think... do you think if we CAN get Vaatu out of me, or defeat him somehow, those visions could go away? Could you make me better?”

Nuktik gave her a wide-eyed look, trembling. “I... Avatar Korra, as much as I wish I could heal you that way, there's nothing I can do. These visions... Vaatu was never a shape-changer. He'd whisper in someone's ear, but never pretend to be anything but what he was.”

“It was still enough to trap my father,” Eska said, matter-of-fact. “He told Father what he wanted to hear, and I nearly helped them destroy the world.”

“We're not our fathers' sins,” Asami told her, firmly.

Eska opened her lips, then gave Asami an acknowledging nod.

“If... I may,” Nuktik continued. “Did they do more than talk to you?”

“Well,” Korra sighed, glad for Asami's warmth against her, “the vision of me never spoke a word. It just stalked me, staring and judging and... never letting me forget. It did fight me, once in a while—”

“Fought you?”

“Yeah. Well, once I saw it when I was fighting someone else. A real person, I'm pretty sure. But another time, it yanked me out of a tree and into a pool of Zaheer's poison.”

Her dad hissed at that.

“I... guess I imagined that poison, too. Toph said she found me in a mud puddle after that.”

“Interesting...” Tenzin said, “the vision was able to pull you out of a tree. That implies some ability to influence the world.”

“Did anyone besides me ever see it?” Jinora asked.

“N—yes! Yeah, there was this little spirit, that was disguised as a dog at the time. He was barking and growling at it.”

Jinora and Tenzin looked at each other. “So... Vaatu was able to manifest through your visions enough to interact with the world to some degree. And that's only after a few years...”

“Right, I _know_ it's a problem,” Korra said. “I didn't... I was afraid, to admit it. Afraid of what you'd all think of me, if you knew I was... if you knew I was...”

“We love you,” her Dad and Asami said together.

Korra bit her lip, nodding, because she couldn't speak.

“Is that why the spirits attacked Ba Sing Se?” Jinora asked, a long moment later. “Was Vaatu strong enough to influence them? We assumed it was the solstice, but...”

“It is doubtful that Vaatu instigated it,” Eska said. “The spirit attack brought Korra, not the other way around.”

“But... during the battle, some dark spirits attacked the airship, then came for Korra.”

“That's right,” Korra said. “Sh... _Vaatu_ even threatened that something might happen to the airship.”

“It's worse than that,” Nuktik said, glancing at Tenzin. “Kuodan, happened six months ago.”

“Another solstice,” Tenzin muttered.

“Spirit activity has always peaked around solstices,” said Eska. “However, since cousin Korra opened the third portal, that activity has gotten stronger each time.” Nuktik watched her as she spoke, but his expression was elsewhere, like he was listening to someone else.

“Oh my,” Tenzin said. “Surely, the revolt taking place here had some role in making the spirits aggressive?”

“The timing was certainly suboptimal,” Eska agreed. “Had the mood in the city been less inflamed, the increased activity likely would not have caused any issue.”

“Unalaq was right,” Korra breathed.

She looked up at the ensuing silence, and noticed everybody blinking at her. “Pardon?” Eska asked. Tonraq nodded in baffled agreement.

Korra shook her head. “About one thing, sorry. The Glacier Spirits Festival. Held during the solstices, to revere the spirits and ensure peace with them.”

Tonraq frowned, sourly. “This is worldwide now, Korra. You want everybody in the world to start praying to the spirits two weeks a year?”

“Reverence may not be necessary,” Nuktik said. “They simply respond to our emotions. So long as things are positive—”

“I've got it!” Korra said, bouncing on her feet. “And hey, world leaders in attendance, listen up, official Avatar dictate here: in order to ensure peace and balance throughout the world, every nation has to start a new solstice tradition: parties. Family gatherings. Gift giving, even. No work for a few days, no fighting, give some lip service to the spirits, but really just... everybody needs to be with the people they love.”

“That sounds worth doing anyway,” Asami said, resting her head against Korra's.

Nuktik cleared his throat. “That might help with the spirits problem, but not the Vaatu one.”

“Right,” Tenzin said, stroking his beard. “If Vaatu is joined to Raava again, couldn't she keep him in check?”

“Their powers are linked,” Korra said, shaking her head. “Balanced. Avatar Wan was able to tip the scale between them, after unsettling their balance to begin with. But Vaatu wasn't fighting him on the inside, too. We might be able to fight him to a standstill, but I don't think Raava and I can win, not in any permanent way.”

“Could somebody help you, then?” Dad asked. “Jinora helped when you fought Vaatu before.”

All eyes turned toward the young airbender.

Jinora swallowed. “I've... never tried spirit projecting _into_ somebody before. I haven't read about it either. It could work, I suppose...”

“We don't need to try right away,” Tenzin said. “You could practice. Korra has plenty of time—”

“I'm not so sure of that,” Korra said. “Vaatu just suffered a big loss. He's only going to start getting stronger. How long before I start to...” She closed her eyes. The visions weren't Vaatu. She'd probably see things again, before long, Vaatu or no. But not knowing whether or not he was manipulating them? “I don't think this can wait. I don't think I could stand it. I don't...”

Asami pulled her close, wrapping her in her arms. Korra clutched Asami's jacket, burying her forehead against her shoulder. At least she had this. Even if Asami couldn't make it better... she made Korra feel like it was.

“Could there be another way?” her dad asked. “Honey, do you remember when you gave Lin and all the others back their bending, after the Equalists took it?”

“Energybending?” she asked, turning toward him her head still on Asami's shoulder.

“Of course!” Tenzin said, bringing his fist down against his hand. “My father explained it to me. In the Avatar State, he could forego physical confrontation, and put his spirit in direct contact with another's, such as Ozai or Yakone. With his stronger will, he was able to overcome them, and cut them off from their bending.”

“How does _that_ help?” Korra asked.

“You wouldn't be trying to overcome anyone,” Tenzin said. “Those two occasions were both battles of will, against somebody hostile to him. But what if you energybent somebody who was on your side? Somebody you did not have to fight.”

“They would have access to her spirit,” Jinora said, wide-eyed.

“Is that... is that a good idea?” Nuktik asked.

“No,” Eska said. “It is certainly folly.”

Asami clutched Korra's hands, putting just enough distance between them that she could look Korra in the eyes. “It has to be me.”

“Asami!” Korra's dad said, taking a step toward them.

“I... I can't imagine why that wouldn't work,” Tenzin wondered aloud.

“You're sure?” Korra asked. “It's... I'm not sure what to expect, but it won't be like anything—”

Asami nearly crushed Korra's hands, staring into her eyes. “I'm sure.”

Korra bit her lip, then rushed forward to kiss her, holding her close.

“Um...” Jinora said, “are you sure it shouldn't be somebody more versed in spiritual matters?”

Korra shook her head fiercely, clutching Asami's hand as she turned to face the skeptical group. “She might not be an expert in spirit stuff, but she's an expert in me.”

“This is my fight,” Asami said simply, a protective arm around Korra, her stance firm as if she'd fend them all off to prove it.

Nobody dared argue.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of emotion in one chapter! And one scene that wasn't in my typical wheelhouse--I worked on and angsted about it for a good while! I hope it worked for all of you. :) I briefly considered upping the advisory warning for the story, but honestly there's not much explicitly described, so I think it's fine. Let me know if you think it's a problem. 
> 
> Now, to make sure the next, also-difficult-to-write chapter turns out well!


	33. Dear Asami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, friends.

_Dear Asami,_

 

_I'm sorry._

 

 

_***_

 

 

Korra sat on the flagstones, crossing her legs. Asami sat in front of her, their knees touching. Asami's hands fell on Korra's calves.

“You're sure you want to do this right now?”

Korra nodded, as the others gathered around them. Jinora was meditating herself, as well, projecting so she could watch over them. She wouldn't be able to help, but she could watch their auras, for whatever that was worth. Everybody else settled in for what would probably be a very boring, very tense wait. “I mean, if it doesn't work right away, we can try something else.” Korra exhaled, staring at nothing. Asami put a supportive hand on her thigh. It helped. “Spirits, Asami... It was bad enough when my mind was betraying me, but the Avatar Spirit itself?”

Asami clutched Korra's hands. “It's not your fault.”

“I... I know that, but—”

“Korra. It's not. Your fault.”

She took a deep breath, then brought Asami's fingers to her lips. Then she let go of Asami's hands, and brought her own to Asami's forehead and chest.

They locked eyes.

Asami swallowed, nodded.

“Be careful, girls,” Korra's dad said.

“Good luck,” added Tenzin.

Korra's eyes never left Asami as they spoke, nor as she entered the Avatar state. Blue light suffused her; Asami shone red. Warm, beneath Korra's fingers. Gentle, caressing.

She took a deep breath, and surrendered to it. Asami's red engulfed her.

 

 

_***_

  


_I just read all your letters. Tenni delivered them, while you were asleep. If I didn't understand the depths to which I'd hurt you, I do now._

_I'm sorry I couldn't be honest with you. Honest with myself. I'm sorry I was too scared to ask for help. Sorry I couldn't see you for who you really are, for seeing only what I wanted you to be._

 

 

_***_

 

 

Light faded, and she and Asami stood, their hands clasped, on a sparkling path high above the world. Off in the distance, at one end of the celestial pathway, was a giant visage of Korra herself, eyes aglow, energy crackling in her hands.

At the other end of the path was a giant Asami, her hair wafting loose around her like a nebula.

“Woah,” Asami breathed. “That's... me?”

“That's our link to your spirit, I think,” Korra said, eyeing the rifle slung across Asami's back.

“My spirit is... pretty big,” Asami said skeptically, her eyes following big-her's body, down and down to where it vanished behind the Earth below.

“I've known that for years,” Korra said.

Asami blinked confusion at her.

“Because... you have so much spirit. The way you go about your life and... everything. It's a cute compliment okay?”

Asami bit her lip to keep from smiling, especially once Korra began to blush. “Okay. But... where are we?”

“Um...” Korra said, happy to move on. “We're kinda inside our own heads right now.”

“Familiar enough territory for me,” Asami muttered, noticing the rifle across her back. “I... didn't know I could do that.”

“Does it make you feel safer? More secure?”

Asami opened her mouth, considering. She nodded.

Korra pulled her gaze away from it. “Okay. I mean, it's here because part of you needed it to be. At least, I think that's how it works.”

“So, we can create things with our minds?”

“I guess... but that's not just gonna be the part of our minds we _want_ creating things.”

Asami took a breath. “Right... so I made the rifle because I feel insecure, but I could just as easily have made something bad.”

“You ask like I've done this before,” Korra chuckled, without dropping her serious tone. “Just... trust yourself, trust me. Everything else...” She shrugged.

They strode down the path, hands clasped.

 

 

***

 

 

_But most of all, I'm sorry I didn't respect you. Respect you enough to find out why you created those guns. Respect you enough to realize you never wanted Kuodan to happen, never wanted Zuko or anyone else to die. I loved a dream I had of you, and when that dream shattered, I resented you for killing it. That's on me. That was wrong._

_I'm not dreaming anymore._

 

 

_***_

 

 

The Avatar Spirit—Korra's spirit—loomed above them, suddenly close, as if the sheer act of moving toward it made the distance disappear. Asami swallowed. This was even more alien than the Spirit World. Was she really the best person...

Yes. She'd learn quickly. Everything obeyed logical rules, and she could fire ferret them out faster than anyone.

And she had to be here. She had to.

“Raava!” Korra shouted, looking up into her own face. “Raava, we know Vaatu is bonded to you now! And to me! We're here to fight him!”

A voice, feminine, ethereal, came from all around them. “What you are doing, with this other human—she could destroy you. She could remove your bending, remove our connection—”

“She won't!” Korra snapped, while Asami simply stared. “Not her. I trust her. I love her. She wouldn't hurt me.”

Asami nodded frantically, stepping forward. A skirt moved with her leg instead of the expected pants—she looked down, and saw she was in the long, armless red dress she'd worn to Varrick's wedding. She reached down to feel it, and saw a ring glinting on her finger. She quickly hid it from Korra's line of sight.

No. Focus. Jacket and jodhpurs.

A moment later, she was ready for battle again.

“This is your partner?” Raava asked. “The one you have felt such turmoil over?”

Asami bit her lip. Did _Raava_ not approve of her?

Korra put a hand on her hip. “You and Wan didn't exactly get along at first, either. You still came together to save the world.”

“Wan was extraordinary.”

Korra turned toward Asami. her eyes drinking her in. “So's she.”

“Are you sure your trust is well-placed?” Raava asked. “You would not be the first Avatar blinded by love, but if you have chosen poorly, you could be the last.”

Korra smiled. “I'm sure,” she said. “I know exactly what she's capable of. There is nobody else, no one, I'd rather have my back.”

Though the giant Korra made no move, Raava seemed to consider. Asami turned to Korra, but she just shrugged back.

“Very well,” Raava said, after just long enough to make it startling. “I hope your faith is well-placed. I will help you both, as I can, but within, even in his weakened state, Vaatu can alter the landscape. He will hide from you when he can, and attack when you are vulnerable. Any injury you suffer will be not to your body, but to your souls. Do you understand?”

“I...” For the first moment since this conversation began, Korra hesitated. She glanced toward Asami, a question in her eyes.

“What happens if one of our souls dies?” Asami asked.

“Then you die, and your spirit will never be reborn. This is a perilous task—do not take it likely.”

Korra turned back to the Avatar Spirit, and Asami knew she was ready to call it off, for her sake. “We're doing it,” Asami said.

“Even at such a risk?” Raava asked.

“I can't let her take it alone,” Asami said. “All the same... can we stop talking about it? If I'm gonna risk oblivion, I'd rather get it over with.”

Raava surprised her—she laughed. “Very well, chosen of my Avatar. Good luck.”

 

 

***

 

 

_I spent years chasing a memory of myself, trying to be the person I thought I'd been. It was torture, and it nearly destroyed me. The fact that I did the same to you... I'm sorry._

_I want to make it better. I want to make_ us _better._

_I want to be us again. Not just for today. Not just for a few weeks._

_I don't want anything to come between us again._

 

 

_***_

 

 

They found themselves in the Spirit World, in the wide flower field around the Republic City portal. At least, that was what the place appeared to be.

Asami suspected it was nowhere near that simple. She took a breath. “Alright. What's the plan?”

“Find Vaatu,” Korra said.

“Right. And then?”

Korra shrugged, weakly. “Figure something out. We can't destroy him. I don't honestly think he _can_ be destroyed. But maybe we can cripple him somehow?”

Asami looked at her hand. Then she furrowed her brow, and waved it, and was wearing her shock glove, the new one she'd built. “We need to figure out the mechanics here. Figure out what we're capable of, and, if we can, assess Vaatu's capabilities before engaging him.”

“Sounds good,” Korra agreed, grimacing. “He could be watching us, even now.”

“Wait...” Asami said, staring at her hand. She willed the shock glove away. If their minds' eyes were what governed things here, then...

Asami took a firm stance, glared at the ground in front of them, then jerked her fists upward with a grunt.

A slab of earth erupted up as if she'd bent it.

She rocked back on her feet, grinning, and saw the snicker in Korra's eyes. “Really?” Korra asked.

“I... was merely assessing the possibilities here.”

“Right.”

“Plus, when else would I get a chance to do that? Maybe it wasn't real but—”

A dark, resonant voice shook the air around them. “ _This_ is your champion?”

Instantly, they were back to back, surveying the field for threats. There was nothing.

“You brought your greatest weakness to defend you?” Vaatu rumbled, his laughter like thunder in the distance.

“Don't listen to him,” Korra said. “You were wrong about Wan, and you were wrong about me. I'd say your track record on judging humans is pretty dicey, ya big dumb kite.” In spite of the situation, Asami snorted.

“Is it?” Asami's own voice answered. They turned, and there Asami was. Only _wrong_. Her hair, her face, it was all _hers,_ but not. But worst were her eyes—cruel, accusing.

“Don't lose touch with me,” Asami said. “He might try to confuse us.”

Korra answered with a weak, humorless laugh. That's what Vaatu had spent the last six months doing, after all.

Vaatu pulled her—his? its?—rifle off its back, leveling it toward them. Asami ducked, shoving Korra out of the way, only Korra was doing the same thing, and they both got far more push than expected. Asami turned it into a roll, coming up with her own rifle ready, firing where Vaatu had been...

Only Korra stood there, shock on her face, a dark stain expanding on the front of her chest.

The rifle fell from Asami's hand, then the world fell away from beneath her.

 

 

_***_

 

 

_Zuko's death wasn't your fault. Kuodan wasn't your fault. But at the same time, I know what it is like to feel responsible. I spent years, blaming myself for everything that happened in the Earth Kingdom. For not dealing with the Red Lotus. For not being strong enough to keep the Earth Kingdom together._

_But I realized, yes, maybe I could have made some different decisions. But how could I have known that at the time? How could I have known Ba Sing Se would tear itself apart? How could you have known your weapons would be abused? Maybe we should have. Maybe we are responsible._

_We aren't to blame for what other people do. Even if we equipped them to do it. I mean... once you think about it, it's obvious, right? We can't control the decisions other people make, and we can't be expected to anticipate them._

_I'm still not happy about the guns. But I understand why you made them._

 

 

_***_

 

 

The ground rolled beneath Korra, flowing like a wave. She rode it, bending her way to the surface, willing it to stay still.

“Come on, Raava. I know you can't fight Vaatu, but can you at least keep the ground stable?”

Raava didn't answer, but the sense of energy in the air diminished. The wind quieted.

Korra nodded, and looked around.

Asami stood nearby, brushing herself off.

Korra exhaled, rushing toward her. “Are you okay?”

Asami glared. “You nearly got me killed!”

Korra stopped.

Asami hugged herself, looking away. “This was a mistake. Coming here, with you...”

“I...” Korra reached toward her, her steps slowing. Then she stopped, tightening her fingers into a fist. “Vaatu.”

“Nearly killed me!” Asami said.

Korra closed her eyes, turned away.

Not Vaatu. But not Asami either.

This was the vision. The part of her that Vaatu had taken over, to torture her with. He may have made it worse, but her own trauma and insecurity had created it to begin with. In the real world, she'd have to learn to deal with it.

Here, it could get her, or the real Asami, killed.

“Asami made her choice,” Korra said firmly. “She's here because she wants to be. And she's the bravest woman I've ever known.”

The false Asami's face went flat. “And that makes my death acceptable?”

“The only way she'll die,” Korra said, pulling her hand back and turning away, “is if I fail her. And that's the one thing I'll never do. Not again.”

“That's the only thing you've ever done.”

Korra took a calming breath. “You're not Asami.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. You're just a self-destructive, cut-rate imitation. You're...” as smirk dawned across her face, “...cabbage.”

“What?”

“So long, Cabbage,” Korra said, striding away with a flippant wave.

“It's not so simple as that!”

“Nobody cares, Cabbage.”

“You'll lose everything you care about! Everything every Avatar before you has ever fought for! Everything will burn and it will be your fault! _Listen to me_!”

Korra whistled, and kept walking.

 

 

***

 

 

_I understand why you shot that man who killed your mother. I understand why you didn't shoot Kuvira. Two things, so close together—would you have spared her, had you not nearly killed him?_

_Would I have destroyed your factories, if they weren't_ your _factories?_

_Not even the Avatar or the smartest woman in the world can change the past. But we can learn from it. We have to learn from it._

_Not a night went by, for me, that I didn't think of that big, half-empty bed too._

 

 

_***_

 

 

Asami fell, the blood on Korra's shirt searing her eyes, even after she clamped them shut.

It hadn't been Korra in her sights, it had been Vaatu, there was no way...

Freak out later, Asami! You're falling! Deal with that!

She opened her eyes, and at first, thought she was falling through a void. But the darkness around her had texture, character. Malice.

Vaatu.

Yet, if it _was_ Vaatu, why hadn't he killed her? Why was she merely, endlessly falling? What was holding him back?

She looked around, past her hands—how could she see her hands without a source of light?

Unless she was within the light itself.

Raava. Raava was holding him back. Protecting her. But unable to fight him off. A balance of forces.

That still left her... falling.

Asami squinted, her mind recalling a design she knew intimately. Moments later, she was in one of her airbender wingsuits. She spread out her arms, pulled her legs apart, and her fall became a glide.

She broke through the darkness, and soon was sailing through the sky above Air Temple island. Any other time, Asami might have grinned. Right now, she merely focused on how she was supposed to land.

Air Temple Island closed in beneath her, and she leaned back as the ground came close, sending her sailing up above the rooftops. Okay now airbend airbend AIRBEND—

She managed to conjure up a gust to slow her fall, but still had to land in a rough roll to keep from flattening herself out. She... honestly didn't know if falling from a height could actually hurt her, here, but the complaint of her shoulder certainly felt real enough.

She stood, dusting herself off, trying to think.

She'd taken aim at Vaatu, squeezed the trigger at Vaatu. She'd seen Korra take the hit—the image was still seared into her mind—but it hadn't been Korra. It couldn't have been.

Vaatu had done to her the same thing that he'd been doing to Korra, for months.

For _months_.

Spirits, how had she survived?

More pressingly though... where was she? Was this an entire world, or had Republic City been conjured out of her mind? Looking out over the cityscape, she could see the Spirit Portal, but Future Industries tower still stood too. Puzzling.

The one place she obviously wasn't, though, was here. They'd appeared in the field of flowers on the other side of the portal—she'd try there first.

Once... she got across the bay.

She didn't trust the glider suit, not without the training necessary to use it. She got to the dock, but nobody was operating the ferry—in fact, nobody but her seemed to exist in the city at all. It was quiet, and eerie, like the night she and Korra had returned, seven months ago.

Only then, the city had been evacuated. Like this, during the day? It felt... abandoned.

“You would know all about that, wouldn't you?” somebody asked behind her, making her jump. A voice she'd _known_ she'd never hear again.

Asami turned her statement into a fast pivot, already glaring before she actually saw who was there. “You are _not_ my father. Don't you _dare..._ ”

He looked stricken, reaching toward her, but he wasn't alone.

For a heartbeat, half a shocked breath, Asami wavered as she looked at the woman beside him. Then Asami's brow furrowed. “You... how stupid do you think I am? I knew you'd throw my father at me, but my mother, too?”

Asami's nostrils flared, her fists clenched... but she stared at her mother. At this... vision of her mother. It stood very still, facing her, breathing, a slight smile...

“Aren't you going to say anything? Taunt me?”

“We just want what's best for you,” her father said, sadly, wrapping his wife in his arms.

Why wasn't she moving? Why wasn't she speak—

...this wasn't Vaatu.

She'd brought this with her, herself. Her mom didn't move because she only remembered her from pictures. Her mom didn't speak, because she couldn't remember her voice.

“Oh,” she said, stepping forward.

Her father smiled. “We love you, Asami.”

Asami took another step, and then another. But as she approached, they began to... fade, like mist in the sun. By the time she reached them, they were gone.

Asami stood alone, turning in place, a hand almost-covering her lips.

She closed her eyes, choking against her stiff throat, and thought through Jinora's meditation exercises. Just a little, just the basics, but what else did she have?

This wasn't... this wasn't the time to fall apart. There was too much going on, too much at stake.

She could deal with all this later. Deal with forgetting her mother, deal with never getting to say goodbye...

Asami choked, and fell to her knees where they'd stood.

Just a moment then. Just a moment.

 

 

***

 

 

_I don't know how many times I stood by a phone. How many times I sat with pen and paper. I knew I couldn't run forever, I knew I couldn't stay away, stay silent. I knew the longer I waited, the worse it would get, and it would be nobody's fault but my own._

_My fingers would be on the phone, but I couldn't pick it up. What if you hated me? What if you were hiding more things, worse things? What if everything else I'd thought I knew about you, that I'd imagined, was a lie?_

_What if that phone call ended, and so did we? Everything I'd hoped for, everything I'd dreamed of, the thing that kept me going when all else failed for the darkest three years of my life..._

_It became so easy, to say I'd do it tomorrow. My heart would stop pounding a little. The panic, as bad as I ever felt in my worst fights, would subside instead of overwhelming me. I'd call tomorrow. Only, it would happen again. I'd call tomorrow. I'd call tomorrow._

_And then tomorrow became six months._

_How do I apologize for that?_

 

 

_***_

 

 

Korra needed to find Asami.

It didn't help that nothing here—whatever 'here' was—made sense.

She strode through a thick forest, the jagged look of the branches around her itching her memory. Had she been here before? Had she—

The hair rose on her neck, and she dove into a roll on instinct alone. She passed between two trees, and when she looked up, she was inside Amon's lair, Amon himself looming above her.

Korra yelped, airbending a blast between them, throwing her back but barely unsettling his step.

How had he cornered her like this? Why was... why was there a forest behind him?

“The world doesn't need an Avatar anymore,” Amon said, stalking toward her.

Memory and illusion warred within her. Something about this... this wasn't real, though the threat was. She had to get away. “It needs me more than it needs a charlatan like you!”

“Strong words,” Unalaq said, appearing to her right with a chill wind. “From a girl who never knows what she's doing.” Her uncle snapped a water whip toward her, while Amon stalked around her side. “How can you truly think the world is better off with an uninspired, uneducated, powerless child maintaining the balance?”

“Maintaining the balance weakens everyone!” said Zaheer, swooping down from above. Korra froze in place, long enough for him to knock her flat.

She slid into Kuvira's feet. The Great Uniter pressed her boot to Korra's neck. “We can solve our own problems without you. You're just in the way.”

Korra grabbed Kuvira's calf, straining against it, looking desperately up at the dictator's face...

No. No this wasn't right. Kuvira wasn't...

Kuvira wasn't a dictator anymore. She didn't even have an army.

Asami took it.

Kuvira's strength weakened, and Korra was able to shove her away, rolling onto her side. Unalaq came at her, but she kicked off the ground toward him, spinning between his whips to grab his robes.

“You aren't—” Amon began, before Korra growled and, still in motion, smacked his mask hard enough with Unalaq's head to crack both.

She'd beaten them all before. This wasn't—

Metal clamped around her wrists and ankles, spreading her limbs wide, she gasped as her arms and legs were pulled out tight, suspending her over a lava-filled chasm.

No no no not again NOT AGAIN NOT—

 

 

***

 

 

_If I'd gotten your letters then... I can't say what I would have done. I wish I could. I wouldn't have burned them, though. Never. I was afraid of what you might say, but to read your words, to touch something that had been in your hands..._

_I wish I'd gotten them._

_I wish I hadn't been so scared._

_I wish I wasn't still scared now._

_I'm so tired of being scared._

_Scared of failure. Scared of losing you, of losing myself. Of losing my mind._

_I ran, and I hid. Not just from you. I knew better. I couldn't outrun it before—why would this time be any different? Nobody else could see it, nobody else could hear it._

_All they'd know was, I was broken._

_Once they saw it... I couldn't pretend to be whole, anymore._

_Except..._

 

 

***

 

 

As soon as she'd composed herself, Asami had managed to create a boat with a mere, firm thought. The island—and the voices on it—were behind her, and the city grew close. She tried to think of what to do next, but couldn't help but be preoccupied with one unnerving observation:

She could see through herself.

Literally, she could make out the speedboat's steering wheel through her hands.

Had she been like this since she and Korra had gotten here? She didn't believe so. She had a theory, but couldn't test it until she'd gotten to shore.

The empty city loomed close, and unnatural as that seemed, considering who she'd talked to so far, she hoped it would stay that way. She pulled the boat up to an empty dock, hopping off and looking through her hands, her arms. She held one palm up toward the sun, and saw the disk clearly shining through it.

Asami kept her breathing steady, and turned toward the boat. She closed her eyes. Don't need it anymore... there isn't a boat. There isn't a boat...

She opened her eyes.

There wasn't a boat.

She looked at her hands.

Solid, again.

She pressed her thumb into her palm to make sure.

Okay.

She let out a breath.

Okay. So, she could shape the world around her, but anything she created, came from herself. Important rule to remember. She needed to make sure not to leave anything behind.

She turned toward the Spirit Portal. She didn't _know_ Korra was there, but at the same time... she felt it. A whisper, a tug. Maybe it was Raava, maybe it was something more. But if Korra had any say in the matter—particularly if she didn't KNOW she did, where else would the Avatar want to battle Vaatu than in the Spirit World?

Well, Republic City maybe, but that clearly wasn't the case.

Asami thought up a moped, watching herself as she did so. She wasn't quite see-through—maybe a moped was small enough—but she did look a little paler.

What if she hadn't noticed that? What if she'd made an airship or something, and vanished altogether?

What did it mean? Was it just how this world worked? Or was it symbolic, for how she could lose herself in the things she built? Was it both?

These weren't things she understood. She wished she understood the rules. She was figuring them out quickly, but she had to be careful.

A helmet appeared on her head. She chuckled at herself, and motored toward the glowing column at the core of the city.

 

 

***

 

 

_Except... now._

_Waking up in your arms, your falling asleep in mine, and everything we did in between..._

_I did not feel broken, then._

_You make me feel whole._

_Sitting here, writing this, wearing your coat, so full of the smell and the sense and the spirit of you, beautiful you..._

_When I'm with you, it's like... I don't have to be afraid._

_If I fall, I know you'll catch me._

_Who better to know how my pieces fit together than an engineer?_

 

 

_***_

 

 

Korra grit her teeth and suffered, screaming in her own mind—this isn't real! This isn't real! THIS ISN'T REAL!

“Oh, but it is so VERY real,” Vaatu purred, slithering from behind Zaheer. “Part of you never left this cave.”

“The rest of her is stronger for surviving it!” Raava countered, swirling around him. They both dissipated into the air, not gone so much as canceled out.

Zaheer, however—the Zaheer she carried with her—continued. “You found meaning in what I did to you. I'm impressed—your resilience is staggering. But in the end, it doesn't matter. Ironically, Unalaq already won my battle for me. We didn't know it then, but the Avatar cycle was already destroyed.”

That's what she was there to fix! She, and Asami...

Asami!

“Everything the Avatar stood for, all the so-called 'balance,'” Zaheer said, eyes wide and fervent.

What Korra couldn't fix...

“...all of it will be truly balanced by Vaatu, now. Nobody will trust you, nobody will—”

A shot rang out. Zaheer collapsed in a spray of blood, revealing Asami at the cave entrance.

Asami lowered her rifle, met Korra's eyes, smiled. Then she shimmered and vanished, followed shortly after by the rest of the cave.

It hadn't been the real Asami—but her mind contained more than terrors.

She took a moment to recenter herself—any encounter with Zaheer still made her heart plummet down into her gut. She at least started to get it back where it was supposed to be before standing.

The real Asami _was_ still out there, somewhere within the Avatar Spirit, trapped or wandering. She might not have Korra's demons, but she had troubles of her own, and Vaatu to worry about besides.

“You can't always be there for her,” Mako said, leaning against a nearby tree in his detective's uniform, his old red scarf wrapped about his neck. “You loved me, after all, but couldn't deal when our needs went different ways.”

Korra knew she shouldn't engage. This was just another anxiety, another, smaller cabbage.

“Even if she doesn't hide anything else from you, you'll reach a point where she's 'upsetting the balance',” he mocked, making quotes in the air.

Korra grabbed the scarf and dragged him toward her. “I've lived a lot of life since you and I blew up. So has she. So have you, for that matter. You wouldn't talk like this.”

“As if you'd know? Asami wasn't the only one you've been avoiding, these last few months. And Ba Sing Se fell apart because of it. Again.”

Korra grit her teeth. “It's not like I wasn't doing anything. All those warlords...”

“And the water tribe trading crisis,” Jinora said, hovering nearby. She stepped back.

“And Zaofu,” said Su, her eyes hard.

“And the crisis in my country,” Zuko rasped, blood burbling from his lips.

Korra was surrounded. Distantly, she heard her own name, desperate, like the screams of the abandoned. “I... I'm only one woman. How could I be everywhere at once?”

“The world is too complicated for you now,” Tenzin said, his burns black and fresh. “You have the power to resolve any problem, but what do you do when there's dozens at once? Hundreds?”

“The Water Tribes are independent states now,” said her father.

“My Earth Kingdom is turning into dozens,” choked the Earth Queen, her eyes glazed over.

The shout of her name grew closer, more distinct.

“A genocide was days away, and you didn't have a clue,” Kuvira said, arms crossed, pacing between the others.

“You weren't even aware of the trouble brewing in the Spirit World,” Nuktik said as Kuvira passed him. “How can you patrol that world, when you can't even handle this one?”

“It can't keep up like this forever,” Korra pleaded. “I'll tackle things one at a time, I—”

“People will die,” said Zuko and Hou Ting.

“Cities will fall,” said Suyin and Raiko.

“You'll fail,” they all said. She clamped hands over her ears, shut her eyes. “You'll fail. You—”

“KORRA!”

Her eyes shot open. That was Asami! Her voice sounded a little tinny, but “OVER HERE!”

Moments later, a mecha suit crashed in between the trees, a loudspeaker mounted to its head. Korra laughed, airbending herself up to land on top of it.

The canopy cracked open, and Asami looked... indistinct. Korra blinked. Was this another apparition, or—

Asami's look of relief at seeing Korra turned to one of consternation as she looked at everyone milling toward them. “What's with the crowd?”

Korra sighed, shaking her head. “A million problems. Even with you here for backup, I don't think I can answer them all at once.”

“Answer... is this another sort of metaphor?”

“Spirity things seem pretty keen on them, so yeah. Let's get out of here before they make me even more insecure about being one person patrolling two worlds.”

“Hey,” Asami said, and the mech vanished. Korra fell through where it had been with a yelp, landing in Asami's arms.

“Where'd it go?”

“Back here,” Asami said, tapping her head. “As for all of them...” she glanced at all the shambling crowd, “why do you think I took Kuvira's army?”

The oncoming crowd paused. “What?” Korra asked.

“The army posed a problem, and you getting stretched too thin was a problem. The most efficient solutions in life are when two problems can solve each other.”

“You're... going to make them peacekeepers?”

“The seed of a peacekeeping force, yeah. They'll do a lot of engineering work, which will also mean they'll be trained for productive... look, I have a whole plan outlined, but maybe we can talk about it later?”

“Right,” Korra said, sliding mostly out of Asami's arms—but grabbing her hand to keep from fully separating. She turned to all the voices from before. “Maybe I can't handle all of this alone. Good thing I don't have to! Now get out of our way!”

The whole crowd evaporated on the spot.

Asami chuckled. “I... never imagined insecurities responded so directly to yelling.”

“They don't,” Korra said, pulling Asami in closer. “But they can be knocked back by something more powerful. Maybe I'm afraid I'll mess things up, but I _know_ that you'll fix it. I'm more confident in you than I am doubtful of myself.”

“I...” Asami began, then pulled Korra back and kissed her thoroughly.

Korra held her head gently, fingers flexed against Asami's neck. They breathed into each other's lips for a long moment, foreheads pressed together.

“We should get moving, shouldn't we?” Korra asked.

“Probably,” Asami replied.

After another quick kiss, they did.

 

 

***

 

 

_I love you. Even in my darkest moments, even at my most doubtful, I still ached to be near you, to hear your voice, to see your eyes, just a moment, just a glance._

_I love you, Asami. You're the world to me. You deserve a lifetime of happiness. Ten thousand lifetimes of it! You're amazing._

_I love you._

_But it's not just about what I feel. It's about what you feel too. I didn't give you the respect you deserve. I was selfish, staying away, allowing my fear to keep me from calling. Running away again._

_I hate myself for it. I hated myself then. I hope... I hope I will be strong enough, next time, not to run. Not from you._

_There will be a next time. As much as I love you, as much as you somehow love me... we'll disagree on something again. Hopefully not as bad as this, not as big as this. But still..._

_I want to make a promise you can believe. I want to make a promise I can believe._

_But I've disappointed us both before._

_I'll never leave you, Asami. But I said as much in the Spirit World._

_You said there's nothing in the world that could truly hurt me, but you're wrong—even if I can overcome this, overcome Vaatu, even if I can be at peace with what Zaheer, and Unalaq, and Amon did to me, one person will always have the power to hurt me: you._

_Losing you, hurting you... nothing terrifies me more. Not losing the Avatar cycle, not failing the world, not my own death. The idea that I'd lost you, that I'd pushed you out of my life, that I'd hurt you enough to hurt that unquenchable spirit of yours..._

_I couldn't bear it._

 

 

_***_

 

 

They ventured deeper into what seemed to be a replica of the Spirit World. Distance was even stranger here, and honestly, as everything was a construct of their minds, distance was likely a metaphor as well.

One thing they'd proven, so far:

They were both strong enough to survive their own demons. Asami's had hit her harder than she'd expected, but nowhere near as bad as Korra's had been. They'd both persevered.

Vaatu had come after them both, but Raava was there to keep him in check. Mostly.

Now, they just had to figure out a way to flush him out, and...

What then?

“Back to the glove?” Korra asked as they pushed forward.

Asami looked at her hand, at the shock glove on it. It was her design, even with a few improvements she'd been brainstorming. “Yeah.”

“Not the rifle?”

Korra's bloodied gut flashed before her eyes. She shook her head. “You seem to know where we're headed.”

“I... I feel like I know this place. I mean, I dreamed it.”

With any other girlfriend, this might be weird. Asami followed Korra without doubting her for a moment.

They stepped around gnarled trees, scattered about in what seemed a natural pattern, until the moment Korra guided them into a pathway. A straight line where nothing grew, and framed in the distance by the furthest growth, what could only be the Tree of Time.

“We're not... actually in the Spirit World, though,” Asami said, as they headed toward it.

Korra shook her head. “No, but... I don't think either of us created this place, either. The essence of this place, beneath everything we see, is Raava and Vaatu themselves. I think... I think this is the place they meet. Their battleground.”

Asami gave a resolved nod. “What's the plan? Shove him back in the tree?”

“I don't—”

“You are welcome to make the attempt!” Vaatu boomed, crashing through the trees behind them.

Korra tugged her arm, and both of them ran. Vaatu's laughter tore at the air.

“Only Harmonic Convergence allowed that fool Wan to imprison me!” Vaatu taunted, coming close.

Asami yanked Korra to her side, and shouted, “Jump, into the air!”

Korra took two steps to process, then leaped up, without as much as a questioning glance. Asami bounded up too, kicking her legs forward—

They landed in the front seat of a jeep, already in gear.

Asami slammed the gas.

Korra climbed into the backseat, not noticing Asami's transparency. Asami kept them steady in spite of the uneven path, while Korra bent jets of fire back to keep Vaatu at bay. Asami glanced back in the mirror, and saw Vaatu slithering between the trees, his form rippling and reforming when he happened to collide with a branch. She looked again, closely, as they blew into the clearing around the Tree of Time itself, and saw that, for all his noise, Vaatu had left the forest around them undisturbed.

Vaatu had to be stopped. For the world, for _Korra_...

She took the jeep as close to the tree as she could, then willed it gone, fully flesh again. “I've got an idea!” she shouted, bounding up toward the Tree of Time's gaping maw. Asami studied it desperately, getting a perfect picture in her mind, and building on it.

Again, Korra followed her without question. Vaatu barreled toward them. “I will scour you both from existence! I'll erase your very souls!”

Her plan would work. She was sure of that. And the numbers bore out. Much as she wished they didn't, the cold numbers didn't lie.

Asami stood at the lip, then motioned Korra to stay where she was. “Can you bend him in there?”

“What's your plan?”

“Can you?”

Korra opened her mouth, but turned toward the evil spirit—THE evil spirit—only heartbeats away.

Korra kicked off the tree, sending herself into a spiraling path, her eyes aglow. She sent a gout of flame up at him, sending him dodging right into the vortex she'd created with her spin. She dove out of it, bending it tighter around him to guide his trajectory, whisking him inches above Asami's head.

The gale held Vaatu in place inside, but wouldn't for long. Korra landed, and put those glowing eyes on Asami, trusting her to have a plan, the perfect plan, to fix this.

Asami's eyes answered: I'm sorry.

Then she closed them, and put every bit of her spirit and her will into sealing the Tree of Time smoothly shut, as if it had never been open at all.

 

 

***

 

 

_I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you._

_I love you, Asami Sato._

_Forever._

— _Korra_

 

 

***

 

 

Korra's eyes jerked open as if she'd been kicked in the stomach. Her dad and a few of the others were at her side at once as she felt her own body, like she had to reassure herself it was there. Something had happened, that had severed their connection. Something...

“Honey, are you okay?” Dad asked, squatting beside her. “How do you feel?”

“I'm... I'm fine.”

“Your spirit,” Jinora breathed. “It's... unclouded? I can't think of a better word.”

“You mean, it worked, then?” Tenzin asked. “What happened?”

Korra shoved them aside. “Asami?” She'd seen her, standing tall, an apology in her eyes before she'd faded away and the tree had shut itself tight. She'd thought Asami had escaped, that she'd vanished because she'd woken up...

But her eyes were still closed.

The fear she'd brought with her from facing down Vaatu roared back to life as she surged forward, her hands on Asami's face. Asami was limp, her chest barely moving. “Asami!?”

Nuktik knelt quickly beside her, glowing water layering over her skin.

Korra stepped back, taking control of it. Nuktik might be the better healer, but Korra needed to know, needed to feel...

Asami was barely alive. There was hardly any energy to her at all... and it was fading.

Jinora's hands clasped her arm. “Korra... her spirit—”

“No,” Korra breathed, shoving her away.

Nuktik took the water back as Korra stood, shocked. She watched, trembling, as he examined her heart, her lungs, as he probed her chakra points, as he searched for something, for anything to heal.

Jinora clasped her father's robe, her face half-buried against him as he watched. Korra's own father stood behind her, his huge hands gentle against her shoulders as she stared, helpless, not understanding, at the still form of the woman she loved, unceremoniously, ingloriously limp and lifeless on the ground...

“No,” Korra said again, trembling.

“I...” Nuktik hesitated, holding this healing water in place. “I don't know what to do. It's like... her body is fine, but there's nobody there.”

Korra shook her head, trying to turn away, but her eyes locked on Asami.

“Cousin Korra,” Eska said, gently taking her hand. She was crying. “I am so sorry.”

NO!

Korra shoved her father and cousin away, falling against Asami's body, grabbing her by the collar. “You can't do this!” she shouted. “Not now! Not after everything! What did you do? You have amazing and clever ideas, not stupid things like sacrificing yourself!”

“Korra,” her father said, touching her back.

She flicked her arm, airbending him away. Airbending them all away. She pulled Asami close to her, re-entering the Avatar state. The air continued to swirl around them, forming a near-impenetrable wall of wind, lifting them both into the air.

She put her hands against Asami's chest and head, as before. Asami's neck wouldn't even support her head's weight. Korra held it up, and tried to energy bend her, tried to open herself, tried to push, tried everything.

Asami was limp.

Korra tilted her head back, tears streaming from her eyes, fire erupting from her lips as she shrieked in grief, in betrayal, in fury. This wasn't real. This _couldn't_ be real. It was another one of Vaatu's tricks! One last, desperate attempt to break her! Any moment now, she'd wake up in Asami's arms, and hold her close. This wasn't REAL!

“Oh, Korra,” a kind, sad voice said, from nowhere, from everywhere, from within her. Raava. “I'm sorry.”

“Give her back,” Korra whispered, as she and Asami rose above the rooftops.

“I cannot,” Raava said. “She gave of her spirit to seal Vaatu away. If I gave it back, he would escape, and this all would be for nothing.”

“Don't care,” Korra said, crushing Asami against herself in the sky over Ba Sing Se. “Let the Avatar cycle be ruined. Let Vaatu free. This is too much. Too much.”

“Korra...”

“I've lost _everything else_ for you! Don't you dare tell me she's gone! If you can't help her now, don't you dare speak to me again!”

“I cannot create life, my Avatar. Her spirit is all-but spent.”

Korra seized on it, a thin ribbon of hope. Any hope. “What do you mean, 'all but'? What do you mean!?”

“There is... an ember left, dwindling. I think, perhaps, her love for you is strong enough that it attempts to hold on—”

“What can you do? You have an ember, right? That's all you need to make a fire. Breathe on it!”

“It is not so simple. She simply doesn't have enough spirit—”

“Give her more!”

“Even if I could, her body couldn't take the amount of spirit energy it would take to bring her back. Hers is a mortal vessel. It needs a mortal soul.”

“Then give her mine.”

“Korra...”

“Give her mine!” Korra demanded. “Take whatever you need! Take my legs again. Take my bending. Take it all. End the cycle if you have to. BRING HER BACK TO ME!”

Korra's cry echoed over the city below.

“There... may be one thing I can do,” Raava said. “But no Avatar has ever asked it of me before. It could weaken you.”

“Do it.”

“It could weaken the Avatar. Every Avatar after.”

“Do it!”

“Think, Korra! Everything you sacrificed, everything _she_ sacrificed, it could all be undermined. Is she worth it? Is this one human life deserving of reordering the world?”

Korra sobbed. “No life has ever been worth more.”

Heat and warmth filled her, rising up in her throat. “Very well,” Raava said. “You give yourself to her, freely? As much as is needed?”

Anything. Everything. Korra nodded.

“Give her your breath,” Raava said.

Korra took a moment to realize what she meant. She pressed her lips to Asami's. They were turning cold.

Korra breathed.

Something rose from within her, light shining through their lips. Weakness filled the void behind it, heaviness, threatening to pull Korra down to Earth, to pull her from consciousness, to pull her very life away. Asami's body soaked it in, thirstily, like water on desert sand, and it vanished just as quickly. But Korra gave, and gave, the sphere of wind weakening around them, her muscles trembling as she held her beloved tight.

Asami gasped, her eyes wide and, unless Korra imagined it, unless it was a trick of the light, held a fast-fading glow. Korra gasped, too, startled, relieved, exhausted, kissing Asami fiercely as awareness returned to her.

Asami kissed her back, and they began to fall.

“What's going on?” Asami asked, as they plummeted.

Korra sobbed against her.

Asami chuckled. “Probably you should slow us down?”

“You're alive,” Korra croaked.

“And I'd like us both to stay that way?” Asami shouted, eyeing the ground.

Korra couldn't hold Asami tighter than she already was. She firebent jets from her feet to slow their descent, used air to keep them steady, angling them toward a large lawn on the palace grounds.

They landed, slowly but badly, tumbling over each other and rolling through the grass. Korra never let go of Asami for an instant.

She may never let go of her again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the reasons I wrote this story, I think, is that the finale to book 4, while fine, didn't feel like a SERIES finale to me. It was as much a beginning as it was an ending--which, to be fair, was the point. Korra's story is all about new beginnings. 
> 
> Still. We left the Avatar world mid-sentence, it felt. 
> 
> I hoped, then, to make this story a sort of fifth and final book, and to make its conclusion more... culminative. Wrap up loose ends. And here we are now, finally, at the climax of the climax, haha, with stakes both global and intimate. I put some extra effort into making this chapter shine, and massive thanks to all my alpha and beta readers, as well as my early-access patrons whose feedback made that possible! <3
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Two chapters to go, so stay tuned, but really, they are mostly cleanup. A few surprises left, though... ;)
> 
> PS: If you've been reading along, and never left a review, this would be a great time to do so! ;)


	34. Together Again

Wing waited patiently, as Wu straightened his collar. “You're sure you want me in there, with you?”

Wing nodded, hard-eyed, staring at the cell door. “If you're willing.”

Wu looked down, biting his lip. “I dunno... I'm not a fan of the whole... confrontation thing. Plus, if he sees me, he's going to think we're here to give him Torru's position in the Convention.”

Wing chuckled, but his gaze was still hard. “Let him think what he wants. I... I want you there for me.”

Surprisingly, Wu didn't swoon or make a fuss out of the romantic remark. He just put a hand on Wing's arm, and nodded. Maybe he hadn't seen everything Wing had, during the battle, but he'd seen the weight Wing was under, each time he came back with fewer and fewer survivors. Nearly a half of the Convention was missing, and while some of them had been part of the Red Lotus attack, others, too many others...

Wing steeled himself, glad for Wu's support. But also glad Wu was there to share what was about to happen. “Let us in,” he told the guard.

Rong leapt up from the narrow mattress as soon as the door opened. “My comrades finally forced your hand, did they?” he grinned. “No need to give me a change of clothes—let them see me as I –”

“We won't be doing that,” Wing interrupted, leaning against the door. He'd thought about leading the man on, drawing this out—after hearing what he'd gone through during the attack, Mako thought he at least deserved this little pleasure. But now that he was here, he just wanted it done. “Why, if we presented you to the people of Ba Sing Se, they'd probably tear you apart.”

“Tear me apart?” Rong chuckled. “After Brother Torru was killed? They need a strong voice now more than—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Wing said, circling his hand at him. “See, thing is, they know it was Earth Empire soldier that did it, but what you fail to realize, and we've had a few days to make sure the whole city knows, is that you're the one who hired them for the hit. Sad, really, to see a good man cut down by someone's ambition, but maybe the RLF isn't so different from all the other leaders out there after all.”

“But... I never did that! I loved Brother Torru. He wanted me to take his place!”

“Sticking to that story, are you?” Wing asked, then gave him a wink. “Well, if you ever get out of here, we'll see how that works. But your treachery has been the buzz in every bar in the Outer Ring. Heck, they even say your betrayal was what brought on the spirit attack!” Wing shrugged. “Who am I to tell the people otherwise?”

“But... none of that is true!”

“Oh,” Wing smiled, “it's true enough. Because, see, we can't fight an ideology, can't really kill an idea... but if its supporters fall upon each other and collapse it for us, well...” Wing chuckled. “Turns out, a few people in the right places can make a difference. Now, if you'll excuse me,” he stepped to Wu, put an arm around his shoulders. Rong, shocked, fell back onto his mattress. “We have a Convention to reconvene. Have fun rotting. Oh, and I hope you weren't too fond of sunlight, because, by personal request, you won't be getting any for a long, long time. Mr. Hou-Ting, shall we?”

“Certianly, Mr. Beifong,” Wu answered, smirking, showing Rong his tongue on the way out. “Now, let's get on to that Convention meeting. Something tells me, with the RLF mostly booted out for trying to kill everyone else, a little consensus might be found. Wouldn't you say?”

“I certainly would, Mr. Hou-Ting,” Wing said, his arm on Wu's hip. “I certainly would.”

 

 

***

 

 

Kya stepped out of the girls' convalescence room in the Earth Palace, lip out as she contemplated what she'd seen.

“How are they?” Tonraq asked.

“How are you?” Lin intoned, stepping toward her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “You were worried sick on the way here, and you don't precisely look relieved now.”

She patted Lin's hand, but turned to address Tonraq and Tenzin, waiting with him, along with a woman she didn't know.

“This is Tenni,” Tonraq introduced. “Asami's assistant.”

Tonraq and Tenzin were family, basically; how much should this Tenni get to hear?

The concern in Tenni's aura—and her eyes—was enough to convince Kya of her loyalty. She gave her a respectful nod, then sighed. “The good news is, their bodies are both fine. They had some bruises and scrapes from their fall, some signs of fatigue, but I doubt you could find anybody in the whole damned city you couldn't say that about.”

“Starting with 'good news,' implies there is 'bad news,'” Tenni said. Tonraq nodded, resolve on his face, as if preparing to face another battle.

“Not... exactly,” Kya said. “It's the damnedest thing. Their auras are all... muddled together.”

The two men looked at each other. “What does that mean?” Tenzin asked.

Kya shrugged. “I have no idea. Korra has a big chunk of Asami glowing within her, while Asami has a bunch of Korra's spirit all mixed up with her own.” Along with little gaps of something else, but... she'd have to contemplate that, if she wanted to verify her suspicions, but for now, she let it lie. “It's the damnest thing. Asami's the one I'm really worried about—like I said, her body's fine, but she can barely move. Even with Korra's spirit mixed in, there's... a lot less, than there used to be. It can heal, over time, but I expect she'll be tired a lot for the foreseeable future.”

“We'll make sure she gets rest,” Tenni said firmly. “As a matter of fact, I'm going to inform the board that she's taking some of her vacation time. Tell her she doesn't have a choice in the matter.”

“You think she'll argue?” Tonraq asked.

Lin rolled her eyes. “You may have to tie her to the bed.”

“Korra may enjoy that,” Kya winked.

Lin and Tenzin both looked aghast. Tenni and Tonraq chuckled along with her. “They both could use a vacation,” Tonraq added.

Lin groaned. “That's how this whole mess got started.”

She laughed. “Honestly, I was thinking we could use one of our own, Linny-Loo.”

Lin traced Kya's cheekbone with her thumb. “Not like I'm doing anything else, Lala-girl.”

“This... has to be strange for you, doesn't it?” Tonraq asked Tenzin.

Tenzin made a strained noise in his throat.

“There is the small matter of Asami's army, though,” Lin said. “What happens with them will play a big role in how this whole mess sorts itself out.”

“I'm sure Asami has a plan,” Tenni said, turning to Kya. “Will she be up to some negotiation, at least? A literal seat at the table?”

Kya gave her a skeptical look. “I just said she needs rest!”

“And I'm telling you, she won't be ABLE to rest until affairs are settled to her satisfaction!”

“Shhhh!” Kya pointed at the door with her eyes. “Fine. Set a meeting up for the morning. Until then, though, nobody gets in without my say-so! Is that clear?”

“Understood,” Tenzin said. Tonraq nodded, just as clear that he wouldn't leave Korra and Asami's doorway, either.

“Good,” Kya said, punctuating with a final glare. Then she turned to Lin, who had been staring at her since she'd started spouting commands. “What?” she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Lin made the same choked sound Tenzin had earlier, then took Kya's hand and dragged her to their room.

 

 

***

 

 

“Are you sure you want to risk this?” Caluqtiq asked, holding Desna's hand outside the gnarled tree.

Desna nodded. “I have read about this creature. If anybody can face him safely, surely it is I.”

“Desna... don't take this lightly.”

“I do not,” Desna said. “But your son must have succeeded, given the dissipation of the spiritual energy after he departed. He deserves... he deserves whatever we can gain for him. If this is the way to do it, then it is a risk I take gladly.”

Caluqtiq shook her head. “But... you're the Chief. You shouldn't risk it.”

“And you're his mother. Do you truly think you could keep your face free of emotion?”

Caluqtiq looked away.

Desna touched her shoulder. “Whereas, I have hidden my emotions my entire life. Examine my face. Do I appear resolved? Terrified? Happy?”

Caluqtiq looked at her, and laughed. “I have no idea.”

“I choose to smile,” Desna said, and smiled. Then she hid it again. “I do not anticipate this taking long. But if it allays your fears, I will be careful.”

“Right,” Caluqtiq said, her hands together as Desna strode into the spirit's lair. “Good.”

Desna made her way down into the slimy, dank cavern, under as much control as she would've been if she expected both her parents to greet her. Which would have been quite surprising, as Unalaq was firmly dead. Though perhaps the circumstances of his death opened possibilities for his return in some form or other?

Regardless, her face remained impassive, even as a massive bulk scuttled from the ceiling, a porcelain face framed by an insectoid body. “My,” Koh said, his voice slithering into Desna's ears. “A visitor. To whom do I owe the pleasure?”

“Desna of the Northern Water Tribe. If you would be so kind as to tell me how to find your mother?”

“Why? Do you find your own face unpleasant?”

“Not my face, so much the reaction others have to it. That shall be between myself and them. I seek your mother's help for a friend.”

“Ohh?” Koh twined himself around her, his spiny legs crawling all over her skin, through her hair. Desna gave a bored sigh. “Tell me about this friend,” Koh said.

“My friend is a very brave and selfless young man, whose body does not match his spirit.”

“A spirit is no more an immutable thing than a body is. Lifetime to lifetime, the spirit shifts according to what it has learned, and who it has known. Perhaps the tension your friend feels is deserved, for a sin in a past life?”

“I do not wish to speculate as to the cause of his malady. Only to let him be who he is. But this is the very conversation I would like to have with the Mother of Faces.”

“Mnf,” Koh snorted. “You know of our relationship, you must also know that it is strained.”

“I do. I even empathize with you.”

Koh turned quickly, staring at her. “Do you?”

Desna met his eyes, and nodded. “My own mother loathes me as well.”

Koh narrowed his eyes, examining Desna for a tic, a bead of sweat, anything.

This was no worse than listening to her counselors prattle on about taxation.

“And you do not wish to change the body your mother made you? If she hates you so, would that not be a way to strike back?”

“The thought had not occurred to me. I am more concerned with allowing his mother to see him happy, than to injure my own.”

“What of your father?!” Koh shouted with Unalaq's face.

“He is beyond my ability to help or hinder,” Desna said. “Whereas, I am within your ability to assist, right now.”

Koh sighed turning away. “Very well. You are a stoic woman, Desna of the Northern Water Tribe.”

Just slightly, Desna gasped at being recognized. Koh spun quickly, claws around her face, but she'd pulled herself back into passivity. “I appreciate any assistance you can provide,” she said.

Koh gave her directions. Having something to concentrate on was good. That slip up... “Thank you,” she said, after Koh finished, giving him a formal half-bow. Almost losing her face was no reason to be discourteous, particularly to such a dangerous spirit. Koh, grudgingly, gave an insectoid bow in return, allowing Desna to find her way patiently back out.

“Oh!” Caluqtiq said, jumping when Desna came into view, then pulling her into a quick embrace. “Not that I ever doubted you could do it but... I don't like this place.”

Desna couldn't agree more. “I know the way.”

 

 

***

 

 

Tsu Ying had no idea why she was nervous.

They'd just survived one of the largest battles in decades, mostly unscathed, and saved countless lives in the process. Sure, they'd hoped to prevent a battle from happening to begin with, but their small group against a whole political movement had been an uphill battle. There's nothing more they could've done.

She'd met Mako's brother, and instantly earned his approval, it seemed. And his fiance's approval as well—Opal had plied her for months worth of gossip the moment things calmed down.

So why was meeting his exes making her so nervous?

“Tonraq!” Bolin greeted, as they approached Korra and Asami's door. He and Opal stepped forward to negotiate entry—his fiercely protective face wasn't one Tsu Ying much wanted to trifle with. Mako had said Tonraq hadn't really approved of him, and she was even more impressed now that he'd stuck it out in the face of a big, threatening, muscular...

Just, so very muscular...

Tsu Ying shook herself, taking Mako's hand.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“Of course,” she said, nodding quickly. “I mean, I've met a ton of world leaders at this point, and I _am_ from the White Lotus. Why would I be nervous about the Avatar?”

“You're nervous.”

“I just said I'm _not_ nervous.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes. “I just... you dated them. The richest, smartest, reportedly most beautiful woman in the world, and the Avatar herself, who is beautiful too and incidentally a princess, come to think of it. I'm a guard, a nobody from an Earth Kingdom backwater—”

“You make me happy,” he said, kissing her temple. “You balance me out. And you're gorgeous too, just so you know. What's the rest of it matter?”

Nobody else was looking at her to see her blush. Being called a beauty, in earnest, was not a common thing for her. She thought she could grow accustomed to it, though.

Tonraq and Bolin were still arguing, but the door suddenly opened itself. The Avatar peeked her head out, blearily. “What's with all the shouting?”

“You should be asleep,” Tonraq said, melting at the sight of her the way only a father could. The way her own father once had, a lifetime ago.

Korra was already grinning at everybody in the hallway. “Resting, I'll give you, but we can't be expected to sleep when oh spirits that's Mako!”

Mako laughed, scratching his beard and stepping forward. “Thanks for coming to bail me out. We were in quite the jam, here.”

“You have a beard.”

“That's not all he has,” Opal said, diving back to pull Tsu Ying into view.

Korra's eyes went wide. Tsu Ying raised her hand, waving it beside her head. “Hi.”

The Avatar gasped, then grinned. “Mako! You got a girlfriend!?”

Mako coughed. “I—”

“No, wait!” Korra said, hands up. “We shouldn't be out here. Dad, I _promise_ we'll rest, but catching up will help our morale. Morale is important, right?”

Tonraq rolled his eyes. “You're gonna lie right back down, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Korra said, motioning the group in.

Opal yelped as soon as they stepped into the room, rushing to the occupied bed. “Asami, what happened? You look terrible.”

“Well...” the pale woman on the bed said, clearly gorgeous but more approachably so than Tsu Ying had expected, “I'm not wearing any makeup.”

“AND she just nearly died!” Korra scolded, sitting on the bed beside her, obvious relief to be off her feet belying her apparent energy.

“Oh, no!” Bolin gasped. “What happened?”

“Unless you don't want to talk about it just yet,” Opal interjected, elbowing him.

“I—oh Raava help me, is that _Mako_?”

Opal and Bolin snickered. “How you doing, Asami? I'd ask if you were staying out of trouble, but...” he motioned to her position on the bed.

“Well, it's been kinda stressful, considering how much trouble _this_ one gets into,” Asami said, nodding at Korra, who rolled her eyes.

Opal was pulling chairs from the side wall, Bolin immediately stepping up to help her. “Well,” Mako said, “tell us everything! It's been so hectic here, I barely got any news out of Republic City, much less any specific news about you two. Have you seen much of each other, these last few months?”

“Have we...” Asami began, then her eyes went wide. She looked at Korra, who had the same look of realization on her face.

“Does he not...” Korra began, over Asami's, “he'd already left town when...”

Mako frowned. Behind him, Opal was starting to laugh. “Looks like you're not the only one with a secret girlfriend, Mako!” she teased.

Bolin gasped. “Oh my gosh nobody ever told him!”

Tsu Ying and Mako glanced at each other, while he held up both hands to stop the questions. “Apparently not, Bo, but before you tell me whatever it is, I should probably set something straight.”

That got everybody's attention. A bit more intently than he'd expected. “Um...” he started, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well... I mean this is Tsu Ying, I'm sorry I didn't intro—”

Tsu Ying sighed, wrapping her arm around his. “I'm not his 'girlfriend'.”

Korra and Asami shared a confused look. So did Bolin and Opal.

“I'm his wife.”

Korra fell off the bed.

Mako and Bolin immediately ducked down to help her up, but Opal was livid, her fists at her sides. “His _wife_?”

“I'm okay, I'm okay,” Korra said, letting herself be helped up, onto the bed. The single bed in the room. That Asami was on one side of.

Tsu Ying started urgently tapping her knuckles on Mako's arm as he stood back with her. “Hey, detective...”

“You eloped without telling us?!” Opal continued, sputtering.

“We're really happy for you,” Asami said, as Korra settled onto the bed beside her.

“...your exes are dating,” Tsu Ying finished.

Mako's attention bounced from person to person, but he responded to Tsu Ying. “What do you...”

Korra took Asami's hand, squeezed it, raised it for him to see. She grinned and gave a little shrug. Asami smiled, putting her other hand on top of Korra's.

“I...” Mako said, looking at his two ex-girlfriends. “You...” He stopped himself, pointed at them, and said, “Hold on,” then turned to Bolin and Opal. “Uh, yeah. Sorry I didn't... it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment, we'd-nearly-just-died kind of thing, the morning after preventing a big city-wide riot. Then, I thought you'd be mad you didn't get invited, then it had been a few weeks and I didn't know how to tell you, and...”

Korra groaned. “At least I'm not the only terrible communicator here...”

“To be... slightly mitigating,” Tsu Ying offered, “throwing your wedding with barely any notice wasn't the best communication job, either.”

“Yeah, well that was because—” Bolin started, but Opal threw herself at him in a sudden, very thorough kiss, that ended just as Bolin realized it was happening.

“Just because we're so in love and couldn't wait any longer!” Opal said, breathlessly.

Asami gasped. “It was for us.”

Opal clapped her hand to her forehead.

“What?” Korra asked.

Asami was staring at Bolin and Opal, shaking her head. “They rushed their wedding, just to try to get us back together!”

“What?” Korra squawked.

“ _Back_ together?” Mako asked, scratching his beard.

Tsu Ying was beginning to realize she'd married into an incredibly dramatic group of people.

“Oh...” Korra said, waving Bolin and Opal over to her. “I don't want to get up,” she said, voice cracking. “You two get over here!”

Opal and Bolin did as instructed, being pulled into a very firm hug as the Avatar started to cry. Asami had her hands pressed to her chest.

“So... you knew Korra and Asami were dating?” Mako asked.

“I'm... gathering that everybody knew,” Tsu Ying said.

Mako chuckled. “Well, when you two are done, I need to get in there for a hug too. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner, but... I can't think of any better match. For either of you.”

“And I...” Tsu Ying said, “want to thank you both for breaking him in for me.”

Opal snorted. Bolin blushed.

Laughter filled the room.

 

 

***

 

 

The Spirit World was an odd place. One could retrace the same path and not wind up where one began, or get lost by stepping into the wrong shadow. And yet, following the right directions, you could get right where you needed to be in no time at all.

Or perhaps, she'd spent the journey so lost in her own thoughts, it merely seemed like it was over in an instant. So worried if Nuktik was even safe, was even alive—he'd ridden a dark spirit to the mortal world! Into who knew what danger.

She just wanted to see him happy. She just wanted to see him safe.

“You hesitate,” Desna said, as they stood beside the pool Koh had directed them towards.

Caluqtiq nodded. “I... what if she can't help? I always tried to make life easier for him, but you can't... what if this has all been for nothing?”

Desna put a hand on her shoulder. “Caluqtiq... how can you think this is for nothing? You left your husband, you became an outcast, you traveled across two worlds for love of your son. My own father couldn't bother to heal me when I was injured beside him, in his service. You are a remarkable person, Caluqtiq, and a wonderful mother. You've made Nuktik the strong man he is.”

She shook her head. “He did that himself.”

Desna smiled. “You gave him the strength to. If we are not able to find aid here, then you will give him the strength to challenge the world, if need be. I know you'll be there for him. And... so will I.”

Caluqtiq swallowed hard, and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Desna.”

Desna had no idea what to do with her arms, but rested her head on Caluqtiq's shoulder. Caluqtiq chuckled, squeezing Desna's shoulders, and smiling at her. “Let's do this, then.”

Desna nodded. “I will be here should you need me, but I feel it is more your place to speak than mine.”

Caluqtiq paused. “Do you... do you want her to help you, too?”

“Traditionally, she helped only one human each season,” Desna mused. “But... no. As I told Koh, my body... is my body. It does not pain me as it does your son, so long as I can finally be myself.”

“You're sure,” Caluqtiq asked, one hand lingering on Desna's arm.

Her chief nodded. “Maybe it'll make life a little easier, for other kids like Nuktik? That would be a good thing, I think.”

“I... yes it would, Chief. Yes, it very much would.”

Desna looked down, clearing her throat. “Perhaps we should proceed?”

Caluqtiq nodded, stepping to the pond's side. She knelt, not sure what else to do. “Oh, great Mother of Faces. I come before you to beseech your aid. One mother to another. Please, help me.”

A gargantuan form erupted from the still surface of the water, like a tree trunk unfurling. A ring of featureless porcelain faces covered the bottom of its head, its eyes—if indeed, it had any—covered by a branching crest. The spirit settled, and regarded her gazelessly.

“Mother of Faces,” Caluqtiq said quietly. “I know you fled the mortal world to avoid fickle, thankless mortals. But I have ventured far, and you are my very last hope for my son.”

The Mother of Faces watched her silently.

Caluqtiq closed her eyes, and thought of Nuktik. “I'm so afraid for him...” she said. “He just wants to be himself... but his body... his body won't let him.” She looked up, at the smooth white faces circling the spirit's neck. There were no eyes to look into, but she stared where it seemed they should be. “I don't know how it happened. I don't know why. But I know his body is wrong, I know it's killing him, little by little, and he's so brave. He's so, so good, so kind, so...” She swallowed, clasping her hands in front of her. “Please. Please tell me you can do something for him.”

The Mother of Faces leaned down. “It has been a long time since a mortal has come for my aid. I had grown tired of giving it. For faces I create, so lovingly, each unique to its owner, to be discarded as you would the clothes on your back...”

“We mean no disrespect, great spirit!” Caluqtiq insisted. “I... don't pretend to understand the important and painstaking work that you do. But I know that, for my son, something went wrong. He is not trying to change his name, to live a new life, to have anything he hasn't earned. He simply wants a body to match his self. A body that doesn't drive him to tears. Please... please.”

The great spirit considered. “Where is this boy? If his torment is so great, surely he could have come himself.”

“He did,” Caluqtiq said, prostrating herself again. “Yet we came, also, to return balance to the Spirit World, and save the Avatar from Vaatu. Nuktik became embroiled in that, and somehow moved himself to the material world. I believe—I hope—into the city of Ba Sing Se.”

The Mother of Faces tapped one of her chins. “I have not been to the material world for some time. But, if it is as you say...” She reached down, her hands open to herself and Desna.

They looked at each other, then stepped into the spirit's palms.

Mist rose from the lake, enveloping them all. “How will you find him?” Caluqtiq asked.

“Your connection to him is quite strong,” the Mother of Faces answered, invisible in the mist.

She shivered at the sudden, brief chill. Then the fog dissipated, and the Mother of Spirits was striding out of a low pond, while people in greens and browns scattered away, shouting.

“Perhaps a suddenly-appearing Spirit might not be what Ba Sing Se wanted to see,” Desna observed. “We're peaceful! Just passing through!”

The Mother of Faces stopped beside a small building, at the edge of the palace compound, and set them down beside a shuttered window.

It seemed like ages since she'd seen him, held him, but it had been maybe a day. “Here?” she asked, uncertain.

Desna rapped her fist against the shutter. “We require Nuktik's presence outside. Is he in there?”

Caluqtiq moved to stop her from knocking again, but the shutters opened. Nuktik looked out, blearily. “Mom?”

She rushed forward, wrapping him in her arms. “Oh, thank the spirits,” she breathed. Then, “Don't you _ever_ ride a rampaging spirit into a war zone without backup again. Do you hear me?”

Nuktik laughed. “I won't,” he promised... then looked up. “Oh, my... that's... that's...”

The Mother of Faces regarded him, a frown on all of her lips. “You do not fit,” she said.

“That's...” Nuktik was still saying, eyes trembling.

“Can you help him?” Caluqtiq asked, her arm still around her son's shoulders.

“This... mismatch. Does it happen often?”

“More than we realized,” Desna replied.

The Mother of Faces seemed displeased.

“I'm dreaming,” Nuktik said to himself.

“Can you help him?” Caluqtiq repeated, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The spirit reached down, a gentleness belying her massive form. “I apologize, if your form has caused you harm,” she said, the tip of her wooden finger gently raising Nuktik's chin.

He looked at her, wide-eyed.

“I have heard of what you've done. Your bravery, your strength. Would you like the face of a hero? One to match the strength of your heart?”

“Just... a boy,” he said. “Just a normal boy. Please. Please...”

“Whatever face he has will be the face of a hero,” Desna said, firmly.

The Mother of Faces smiled. “Indeed, it will.” Her fingertips glowed, and—

And she was gone.

Nuktik gasped, pitching out the window, into his mother's arms. She held him up as his hands searched himself, frantically. He began to laugh, and it sounded new—not foreign, not a stranger, but different, yet still recognizably the same.

They fell to their knees together, and Caluqtiq held on to her son.

 

 

***

 

 

“Are you sure you're up to this?” Korra asked, running the brush through Asami's hair.

“I could ask the same of you,” she said, her eyes closed, leaning into Korra's touch whenever her fingers brushed her. She'd drifted off some time the previous afternoon, while Mako and the others were still visiting, and they'd let her sleep in, but still, she was exhausted.

Korra leaned down, kissing Asami's temple. “Of course I am. I'll have something to lean on, at least. And it's important I project strength right now!”

Asami smiled. “Anyone who knows you, knows you'd carry me in your arms if you were in top shape.”

Korra smiled, conceding the point as she pulled back some of Asami's hair and clipped it into place. Not quite where Asami would've done it, but probably nobody would be looking at her hair.

“I read your letter,” Asami said, as Korra fussed over her.

Korra's fingers paused, just a moment. “How'd you manage that? We've been with each other the whole time.”

“You used the bathroom,” Asami chuckled, taking Korra's hand and looking up at her. “I'm... I'm so sorry I nearly didn't get to read it.”

Korra's cheeks flushed, but her eyes flashed too. “Yeah, about that! Don't you ever put me in that position again! Just after we get back together, you nearly get yourself killed?”

“To save you.” She smiled, kissing Korra's hand. “I... suppose I took after my father, in that way.”

Korra knelt beside her, clasping Asami's hands in her lap. “Asami... I love you. Seeing you there, all but dead... I don't know how I could've gone on.”

“I know,” Asami said, leaning her head to touch Korra's. “I've been in that position, remember? I'm not eager to die, Korra. Far from it. But I will do anything to keep you safe. Anything. And if you're asking me to hold back when it comes to protecting you... that's the one promise I can never make. Not if it would mean living in a world without you in it.”

Korra laughed. She wiped her eyes. “Well... just so long as we don't both give up our lives for each other at the same time. How stupid would that look?”

Asami flicked Korra's ear, then kissed her. “I love you.”

Korra smiled, and gave a brief kiss in return. Then, she patted Asami's legs, and stood, grunting at the effort. “I love you too. Let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can sit.”

Asami nodded, undoing the brakes as Korra took the handles of her wheelchair. She wasn't in nearly as bad a shape as Korra had been, those years ago... if anything, she felt better now, even as weak as she was, than she had then.

Korra was healthy.

Korra was _alive_.

Korra was with her. In every sense of the word.

So maybe she didn't have the strength to stand, just yet.

She craned her head back, at the woman she loved, and her heart danced.

“Amazing how smooth the floor is...” Korra said, a grin in her voice. Asami smirked, and clasped the armrests just in time for Korra to hop on the back of the chair and airbend them to a speed the chair probably wasn't designed for. Asami laughed, smiling as she hadn't in years. Korra leaned in, kissing her neck as they coasted.

“Kor—KORRA!” Asami yelped, as Suyin stepped into the hallway. Korra pushed an arm forward, airbending to stop them, pitching them backwards and knocking Suyin flat onto her back.

Asami was laughing in spite of herself as she landed on Korra, rolling over to see her rubbing her head and blushing that they'd been caught. Suyin, on the other hand, barely visible around the upended chair, was scowling, totally disheveled.

“I drop into a war zone, and I'm fine,” she said, picking herself up and straightening her robes. “Try to peacefully use the hallways, though...”

“Sorry,” Korra said, trying to push Asami and the chair up, but finding herself pinned. Normally it wouldn't be trouble, but Korra wasn't 100% yet, either. “A little help, though?”

Suyin rolled her eyes, metalbending the chair upright. Korra used it to help her stand—maybe she was even weaker than she let on. “Thanks.”

“Don't mention it,” Suyin said. “Really. Don't. To anyone.”

Korra chuckled, then pulled Asami up in her chair. She hadn't even realized she'd slouched. “Well... let's get this over with.”

Asami knew the meeting ahead would have consequences rippling through the future, but at the moment, avoiding thinking of her own sluggishness and not eager for hours of complicated bickering, Asami heartily agreed.

At least Raiko wasn't there to muck things up. He'd be bitter about that, sure, but Asami was already thinking about that particular problem...

“Asami?” Korra asked, and she shook herself, realizing they'd come into the conference room, and Korra was pulling up a chair beside her.

Everyone was staring at them. Suyin, Tonraq, Wu, Governor-General Jing, Tenzin, Eska. Asami cleared her throat. She knew how Tenzin must've felt, when he'd first hobbled back into diplomacy after being injured. “Sorry. I'm... thank you all, for meeting at such short notice. There's numerous things to be discussed, I'm sure, but if you don't mind focusing on the matters I'm involved with first, that might be most efficient.” While I have the energy...

Governor-General Jing—the only person at the table, really, who wasn't familiar enough with them to give pause for sympathy, spoke first. “What we really need to discuss is your plans for the army. I... still can't fathom why Kuvira signed it over to a Republic City industrialist. I can't imagine that will sit well with the troops, either.”

Asami nodded. “I don't intend to keep them, though some association may continue. The primary concern remains preventing further bloodshed, but long term... when the Earth Kingdom fell, according to international norms that Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko established, shouldn't the United Forces have been sent in as peacekeepers?

Tenzin shifted uncomfortably. “That was... discussed. But President Raiko did not feel that leaving the United Republic open to attack—”

“The role of the United Forces came under question after the Council government fell,” Suyin complained. “I felt like I was the only one pushing for their intervention, but then Raiko and the others turned it around and acted like it was suddenly my duty to keep the peace.”

“I'm not sure how well Earth people would've liked an outside army...” Wu began.

“I wouldn't cast stones about isolationism, Suyin,” Jing replied.

“Hey...” Korra warned, closing several irritated mouths. “We're discussing the facts of the situation, not past grievances.” She gave everybody a brief, meaningful glare, then turned toward Asami. “Go on.”

Asami smiled. “Originally, the White Lotus was supposed to help keep the peace from the shadows, but the Hundred Year War showed the limits of their influence. Now, their mandate is nebulous, and they've become little more than bodyguards. The United Forces were likewise supposed to be an international peace-keeping mechanism, but Raiko nationalized them, just as the original balancing force,” she turned to Korra, “was injured. Bad timing and bad judgment allowed Kuvira to happen.”

“You propose to defeat bad timing and bad judgment?” Eska asked. Suyin snickered.

“Ah... no. But we can learn from past mistakes, and engineer solutions for them. For ten thousand years, the Avatar remained a source of balance and justice. Poor timing and bad judgment have occurred, yes, but no Avatar has ever become a tyrant. They've led armies in the past, as well, but never to increase their own power.”

“You're giving the army to Korra?” Wu asked.

“Only symbolically,” Asami said. “These past few months... so many things have been going on, so many crises. The world is too big and too complicated for any one person to police on her own, no matter how amazing she is.” She restrained herself from looking at her girlfriend—a goofy grin on her face would hardly strengthen her argument. “And many problems require long, complicated solutions. The Avatar can exert tremendous force on specific points, but long-term change? That takes a legion.”

“We all understand the complexities of world affairs,” Suyin said. “Explain what you're proposing.”

Korra looked ready to snap at her tone, but Asami touched her arm beneath the table, and kept her quiet. Asami continued, “Fold the White Lotus and this army together into an international peacekeeping force, paid for by the international community. In return for their financial support, and agreement to certain international norms that we can sort out in a treaty, the army will help build infrastructure, modernize roads and bridges...”

“The army doesn't know how to do that,” General Jing complained.

“The engineer and industrialist who currently commands them does,” Asami answered. “Most of these people joined up for lack of better opportunity. If we simply dissolve the army, what then? Droves of disenchanted veterans, going home to unstable regions, with no skills other than warfare? Why not teach them new skills, that they can take back home, and make a life out of?”

“And who controls the infrastructure they build?” Eska asked. “Who makes the profit from all this work they are doing? Future Industries?”

Asami rocked back in her chair, but reassured herself that there was no heat in the Water Tribe chief's question, pointed as it was. “In areas where partnering with my company makes sense, perhaps, but overall, I'd prefer the proceeds go back into the organization itself, and the communities it's helping. Most of the White Lotus and United Forces' funding comes from the Fire Nation's reparations payments, but we can't expect those to continue forever. That will only build resentment.”

“I'm... not sure that more soldiers is a way to create peace.” Tenzin said. “Besides, the Air Nation has began taking this role.”

“I actually have some thoughts on that,” Korra said, and Asami relaxed into her chair. Which was a mistake, because she'd have to lean back forward, and she wasn't sure she had the energy for that. Still, she listened. “Tenzin, the Air Nation has done an admirable job these last few years, but putting a bunch of pacifists in as peacekeepers can only go so far. It helps, but it's not a perfect fit. But between the Banyan Grove Tree being torn apart by Kuvira's forces, and the Spirit Portal trade routes causing issues, and now with a portal in Republic City itself... what we really need is somebody dedicated to keeping the peace between humans and spirits, and protecting spiritual sites. We can't see another spirit attack like what happened here.”

Tenzin stroked his beard. Asami squeezed Korra's hand, and caught her glance. I'm proud of you, she said with her eyes. Korra's eyes said the same back.

“Very well...” Tenzin said quietly, “But who would command this new army, to ensure they do not become a political force in their own right?”

Asami turned to Korra. “Avatars always seems to surround themselves with the best and most capable people in the world. They would serve in the Avatar's stead, during those times when the Avatar is unavailable, but their commanders would serve at the Avatar's will.”

“So,” Suyin balked, “we're investing more power in mystical forces we can't control?”

“Mystical forces we know we can trust,” Asami replied. “Whereas control... that's an illusion. The more we try to take it, the less we find we have.”

“I like it,” Wu said, then was shocked when all eyes turned to him. “Well, the army is gonna be a place for people to go to help build things, right? And learn, so they can be better too? There's a bunch of Earth states that can use a lot of that. Besides, like Asami said, the Avatar always has such capable friends! Like her, and me! And Mako, and Katara, and Sokka, and Toph—”

“And Sozin?” Eska said, leaving Wu speechless.

Asami opted to power through, while she still had the energy to do so. Already, the meeting felt like it had gone on for hours. “The leaders of the army will manage it, day to day, but ultimately, the Avatar—and some advisers—will act as a check against its power, keeping it true to its mandate.”

“What advisors?” Tenzin asked, Suyin nodding as well.

Asami smirked, fishing in her pocket. “Sometimes, it's best to couple new ways with old.” She pulled out a White Lotus tile, resting it on the table in front of her. “Tell me, how good are all of you at Pai Sho?”

 

 

***

 

Eska left the summit of world leaders, hours after Korra had taken Asami back to their room. Though it had been a long and terribly dull meeting, they'd hashed out a substantial amount of governing minutia amongst themselves—it was almost as if a meeting without Raiko was more efficient.

Eska laughed at her humorous observation, fishing through her robes for the puzzle book Somi had given her. She had nearly completed it—she would have to ask her for a fifth one, next time—

Somebody cleared their throat in front of her, an oddly familiar noise. Eska looked up.

There was Desna, standing at the other end of the hallway, hair gathered like Eska's was. In her own ties, if she didn't mistake them. Desna stood, watching her, seemingly impassive. Eska knew better.

“Sister,” Desna greeted, with a tiny hesitation that spoke volumes.

“Sister,” Eska replied.

Desna smiled.

“Come,” Eska said, walking toward her. “It has been too long. We must embrace.”

“I...” Desna choked, raising her arms awkwardly, “I do not recall you enjoying physical affection.”

“I have learned,” Eska said, her arms wrapping smoothly around her sister, pressing her head against her and closing her eyes. “I will teach you. There is much I will teach you.”

“Good,” Desna said, her arms gradually settling on Eska's back. “There is much I must learn.”

The sisters smiled, together at last.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrapup in the immediate aftermath, and so many happy reunions :) 
> 
> One more chapter to go, but I've got more plans for our dear ladies. Worry not! <3


	35. Forever

  _Historians have long disagreed on dating systems, as various cultures have begun their calendars on various dates. Catastrophes and dark ages have muddled the past somewhat, but recent, recorded history is typically keyed off of the Airbender Genocide at the start of the Hundred Year War—certainly an important event, but also a somber and tragic one. Perhaps using that dating system as a constant reminder of a crime humans can never allow to recur is appropriate._

_But while that event, and the war that followed, had titanic consequences for the world, in recent years, a new proposal has gained ground. While the Airbender Genocide shook the world to its foundations, the arrival of Avatar Korra broke those foundations apart, while setting new ones. It makes sense, then, that we would mark our history not by the greatest crime of the prior era, but by the moment the current era truly began. Politically, socially, economically, technologically—everything changed during her tenure, including the Avatar cycle itself._

_Those historians, of course, argue about what precise point in her life to hone in on as the start of this new age, even if they don't wish to reboot the dating system. Her birth? Harmonic Convergence? The creation of the third Spirit Portal, three years later? The final victory over Vaatu, the year after that? They debate still._

_When asked if Avatar Korra herself would offer her opinion, Avatar Tashi simply laughs, and answers, 'The day she met Asami Sato.' Historians, however, are too humorless to consider the option._

— _Won Xi Tong, Korrasami District Library Quarterly Correspondence, post-dated 293 SSA_

 

 

_***_

 

 

Senna waited patiently as her family came down the airship ramp, Korra visibly straining to keep Asami's chair from rolling away without her. From how it had sounded, she shouldn't be exerting herself either, but knowing her daughter, it would take a concerted physical effort to convince her to let somebody else move her girlfriend.

Korra knew what she was doing, and knew what she could do. And if she misjudged, Senna was there to pick her back up.

Finally, though, they got down, and Korra relaxed a moment on the flat ground, enough to notice Senna standing there. “Mom!”

Korra's grin was like a sunrise after a long Southern winter. It was worth waiting for. “I missed you, sweetie,” Senna said, moving forward to hug her hard, then kneeling down to hug Asami too. “How are you two feeling?”

Asami tried to get her arms around Senna, but only managed one. “Exhausted,” she said.

Senna smoothed her hair. “Let's get you home then.” She turned, guiding the group across the tarmac. “Somebody called ahead and has a car waiting. I'll show you the way.”

Asami was in no shape to argue, and Korra nodded in thanks. Senna walked slowly and Tonraq took his place beside her, ducking low to give her a quick kiss.

“I'm glad you're here,” he said.

“You're not mad I left the South Pole? Not curious who I left in charge?”

Tonraq shook his head. “I'm glad you're here,” he said again. “I missed you, and they need you.”

“They're two of the most capable women in the world,” Senna objected.

Tonraq put his hand on her shoulder, looked down into her eyes, deep, in that assuring way he had. “Everybody needs mothering sometimes, Senna. Korra's no different, Avatar or no.”

“And Asami?”

Tonraq gave a fond smile. “She's needed mothering for fifteen years.”

Senna clasped her hands together, resolute. Well, then. She had her work cut out for her.

“In fact,” Tonraq said, “I was thinking, when the Southern embassy reopens, maybe we could stay for a while. Or even...”

“We can't stay here forever,” Senna said.

Tonraq shook his head. “No, we can't. But you're needed here more than I am, now. Maybe, just for a little while...”

Senna frowned. “All this time apart, and you're so quick to leave me here?”

Tonraq chuckled. “I did say we'd _both_ be living in the embassy for a while, first. We've got a lot of catching up to do ourselves."

Senna smiled, and took his hand.

They reached the car soon after—a particularly fancy enclosed limousine. Senna quietly stepped in first, to help Asami onto the bench seat. The effort clearly wiped her out, her breathing hard, but Senna managed to hide her worry and smile for this brave woman her daughter loved.

“Hey,” Korra said, nudging Asami's shoulder. “If you scoot over, there's about enough room for you to lie down.”

“Without a seat belt?” Asami asked, chuckling to herself, but managing to move over and make room. Korra sat beside her, and helped her turn, resting Asami's head in her lap, while Senna helped Asami curl up her legs and rest them on her own.

Asami looked up at Korra as Tonraq took the bench seat opposite, closing the door behind him. Nobody said a word as Korra smoothed Asami's hair, humming gently as the engine started. Asami was asleep before they'd left the airport.

 

 

***

 

 

Bataar Jr. was awoken in his cell by the shriek of twisting metal. He jerked, legs tangled in his blankets as the wall tore itself away, flinging into the dark countryside hurtling past the train.

“Is that him?” a voice asked.

Bataar screamed.

“It's him.”

The cloudy night made seeing impossible, and his glasses were on the table besides. But the arms around his midsection and the air tearing at his skin told him at once he'd just been busted out of the prison train.

At some point, he stopped screaming. More because he ran out of breath than any intent, but part of him knew it wouldn't do any good. Nobody on the train could hear him, and whoever had taken him would have done what they wanted by the time the train stopped.

“You alright, kid?” asked one of the voices as he was sat on his feet. The talking form was right in front of him, and very short.

“Grandmother?” he asked.

“Tch. Count yourself lucky, too. Like I'd let my grandson rot away in jail...”

“But... won't they chase us? Try to re-arrest me?”

“I'd like to see them try! Come on, both of you.”

He turned, squinting at the other person in the low light, but not making out much. Middling height, shaven head, but something made him think it was a woman. Something familiar... “Who's this?”

Toph paused, her head turned back toward them. “That'll be interesting for her to find out, I think. C'mon, let's get you two to the swamp. Neither of you are gonna like it, and if I don't drive you to want to murder me in my sleep then I've lost my touch, but we'll make honest people of you yet.”

“How can I... I don't have my glasses, how am I supposed to—”

“Oh no, you can't see, how awful. Damned kids...”

“We'd better go,” the woman said, quietly, tugging on his arm with an unexpected gentleness. Bataar stumbled along with her, and wondered if he might have been better off in prison.

 

 

***

 

 

“Korra?” Asami called from the bedroom. “Could you bring me a glass of water?”

Korra looked up from the vegetables she was chopping, and set the knife aside. This cooking thing was starting to become less of a chore for Asami's sake, and more a pleasure in its own right. You could do such amazing things with spices! “Sure thing.”

Asami was in bed, propped up on half a dozen pillows, frowning at the houseplant on the night stand. “Is there something wrong with the plant?”

She shook her head as Korra handed her the drink. “No. No. I just... sit with me, a minute?”

Korra sat, one hand on Asami's leg, watching her girlfriend intently. She had her thinky face on—it was a cute face, though Asami had few that weren't—so Korra waited to hear why.

Asami didn't sip the water. Instead, she set the glass beside the plant, stared at it, and slowly started waving her hand above it.

What was... was she trying to waterbend?

“Some of your soul is in me,” Asami said, absently. “And some of Raava too. I thought... maybe...”

Korra nodded, cutting off Asami's self-recrimination before it started. “Weirder things have happened. All the airbenders who suddenly, I don't know, activated? I take it you were trying with the dirt under the plant.”

Asami nodded. “I mean... I'm not even sure what I should be trying to do, though. I've watched all your forms, the way you hold yourself...”

Korra smiled. “Let me see your waterbending.”

An intent look crossed Asami's face, as she put her hand over the glass, and started to raise and lower it in a smooth rhythm.

Korra scooted in, reaching toward Asami's hand. “May I?”

Their eyes met. Asami's breath caught, but Korra just smiled. Asami nodded.

“You're too tense.” Korra repositioned Asami's fingers, just slightly, then pushed her thumb along the muscles of her hand, loosening them. “Waterbending is all about flow. Your timing is excellent, though.”

“It's... I'm just tracing a basic sinusoid,” Asami dismissed.

“Asami.” She slid herself closer, until their hips touched. “Just let me compliment your natural grace, okay?”

Asami blushed, and returned her attention to her attempted waterbending a moment longer, before sighing and letting her hand drop.

Korra picked it up. “You're still recovering. Maybe we can try some stances, when we're both back to one hundred percent.”

Asami looked down. “Will... you get back to a hundred percent? I can't exactly complain that you saved my life but... this has to have cost you something.”

Korra shrugged. “I mean, I'm tired more quickly, a lot like you've been, but that's going away. I can still bend everything I could before.”

“But?”

“But... well it's not like there's a bender-o-meter to see how much strength I had before compared to now. I don't exactly feel ready to go out and create any new islands or anything. It's not like... like before, when I never thought I'd walk again.”

“You sound like you're avoiding telling me something.”

Korra shook her head. “Avoiding investigating something, maybe. If I look, then I'll know, you know?”

Asami nodded, pressing a hand against Korra's back.

Korra sighed. “I've checked with Raava, at least. She says, well she says _she's_ tired, for one. But for two, she thinks the Avatar State might be a bit weaker, now. Hard to say how much.”

Asami's fingers curled against Korra's back, thoughtful. “And that's forever. I get to finish my life, but every Avatar after you...”

Korra turned, sternly cutting the rest of that off. “It was worth it. It was the only choice I could make.”

“Korra—”

“Asami, I love you, and I couldn't let you die. But you need to hear a logical reason, more than an emotional one, don't you?”

She chuckled, but admitted it.

Korra squeezed her hand. “You gave everything to save the Avatar. As the arbiter of balance in the world, it only makes sense the Avatar give something back. A sliver of power from a thousand lifetimes, for the woman who defeated Vaatu forever? It was _worth it._ ”

Asami opened her mouth to speak, but creaked instead. Korra smiled, reached over, and smoothed some of Asami's hair out of her eyes.

“That's the last we're gonna talk about that decision, right? We both agree everything worked out for the best? Whether or not we maybe accidentally made a bender out of you?”

She smiled quietly, nodding. “Alright. I yield to the Avatar's wisdom on this—but don't go pulling that on me like it wins any argument, either!”

Korra raised her hands in front of her, shaking her head. “Heck no. Only when it's super relevant, I promise.”

Asami smirked, and relented. “As to the bending... I didn't even _feel_ anything. Every bender I've talked to mentioned some sort of sense for their element. But none of the elements feel any differently to me.”

“Have you tried fire?”

Asami parted her lips, then shook her head. “I'm... not sure I'm ready for that. I don't know how Mako dealt with being a firebender, after what happened to his parents...”

Korra was moving before Asami's somber tone had fully registered, swinging herself around to get over Asami without putting too much weight on her. The Avatar stuff, Asami was unsure about, but reason and gentle support would do to soothe her. Mentioning Mako's parents like that, on the other hand, was only leading Asami to think about her own. That conversation, that required touch.

Once she was on the open side of the bed, she rested her head against Asami's breast, reaching out to clasp her hands. “Do you want to be a bender? You always seemed like you were really proud of everything you've done, without it.”

“I am and... I dunno. I do wonder if I would've pushed myself so hard, if I had bending to fall back on. I wonder... how my father would have felt about me, too.”

And there he was. Korra looked up, and saw Asami staring across the room, not at any particular thing. Some days, she was full of pride for her father; other times his name made her wince, and pretend she hadn't.

Korra nestled against her chest, twined their fingers together, projecting every bit of love and warmth that she could. Nothing she could say would help—she'd tried, in conversations like this. All she could do was be there.

“There... is one thing that's different, though,” Asami said slowly. “I thought I might be imagining it, for a while, but...”

“What is it?”

“I can feel you.”

“Well, I'm leaning on your boob, so—”

Asami shook her head, chuckling. “I mean, before, when you weren't in the room. When you went out the store earlier, I think I could've closed my eyes and pointed and known where you were.”

“That's... okay I was thinking of you the entire time, like I normally do when we're apart these days, but I kinda kept turning back toward home... we'll have to test this.”

Asami chuckled. “You're not moving.”

“I didn't mean _now_.”

Now, she earnestly laughed. “Comfortable, are you?”

Korra nodded, her eyes closed. “I like listening to you.”

“You need to be molded to my side to listen to me?”

“To listen to your heart, yeah,” Korra said. “It's the most beautiful sound.”

The pace of that beautiful sound got a little faster and a little louder, while Asami herself became quiet. She freed one arm from Korra's hands, only so she could wrap it around her.

Then a bubbling squeal came from Asami's stomach. Lunch _was_ , after all, overdue.

Both of them laughed, way harder than they probably should. Of course, that didn't stop them. Not for one precious moment.

 

 

***

 

 

Tenzin leaned on his cane, overlooking the crater around the spirit portal from the back of the partially-constructed shrine at its lip. Besides offering the public somewhere to pay their respects to the spirits, and view the portal itself, the shrine would be a convenient staging area for the Air Nation to supervise the portal from.

Supervising, it seemed, was all Tenzin was good for these days.

Bumi stepped up beside him, adjusting his wingsuit. Bum-Ju chirruped from his shoulder. “You doing all right there, little brother?”

Tenzin sighed. After a lifetime of adventuring with the military without any bending ability, trying to find his own life outside of Avatar Aang's legacy, now his brother had greater spiritual affinity than Tenzin did. And, thanks to his infirmity, greater airbending skill as well. Tenzin knew he wasn't simply the vessel for his—their—father's legacy, but increasingly, he felt as if his own responsibilities were beyond him. “Even if I could go in there with you, I would just hold the rest of you back. But I'd be sore and out of breath by the time I even got to the bottom of that ramp.” He pointed with his cane.

Bumi set his hand on Tenzin's shoulder. “Tenzin... you're not the entire Air Nation anymore. You don't need to do everything. In fact, a good leader knows when to delegate.”

“Or step aside?” Tenzin asked.

Bumi frowned. “Well, technically, yeah. Uncle Zuko knew it was better to be around and help Izumi get her feet under her, rather than hold onto the throne forever. But I don't think Jinora's quite there yet, and she deserves to be a kid just hanging out with her boyfriend a while longer. Besides, you've still got years of wisdom rattling around in that bald head of yours. Plus, you got that injury in battle! Nothing gets you respect like a war wound.”

“Bumi, we're pacifists.”

“All the more reason it's impressive you survived!” He put his arm around Tenzin's shoulder, ignoring his scowl. “Look, maybe you could step back, a little, put a few people in charge of specific things while you stay back and organize. You did a good job of that in Ba Sing Se, didn't you?”

Tenzin stroked his beard. He'd just been looking for some way he could help, but it was true that the immediate recovery efforts wouldn't have been nearly as efficient without somebody steady at the center of them. “Perhaps. I... don't know what else I'd do with myself, but it would be nice to have more time to spend with my family. Now that Ikki feels more assured of herself, perhaps it's finally time to get to the root of... whatever Meelo's issue is.”

Bumi whistled. “I mean, good luck, but I thought that _less_ stress was the idea...”

Tenzin rolled his eyes.

Bumi's airbending team started filtering past him, down the ramps toward the portal. “Look,” he said. “I know you need time to adjust, but maybe it'll be good for you. Get you thinking.”

“About what, Bumi?”

“Well, about how maybe, a master of the element of freedom shouldn't live such a constrained life. Eh?” He wrapped his arm around Tenzin's head, rubbing his knuckles against it, but not as hard as he usually did. “Or maybe, if the Avatar can find meaning in being tortured and nearly killed, then you can find a way to do the same for needing a cane?”

Tenzin blinked.

“Or maybe, think of this,” Bumi said, his feet trying to drag him away, but too thoroughly caught in the conversation to let them. “It made a lot of sense for you to be the sole patriarch of the Air Nation when the entire thing was literally you and your kids. But now, it's a much bigger operation. Even if you were still like you were before Kuodan, you've gotta make some structural changes for the long term.”

Tenzin gaped. “That... Bumi, that's an excellent point.”

“Don't sound so surprised,” Bumi laughed, finally backing down the ramp, Bum-Ju fluttering along with him. “Or maybe spend some time finally developing a sense of humor!” Bumi said, increasing his volume as he got further away. “It's supposed to be a big part of our culture, after all!”

Tenzin nearly called back that it was a good thing Bumi was an airbender now, but then he realized, Bumi would interpret that to mean Tenzin thought he was funny, and that would only come back to bite him. “I'll think about it!” Tenzin shouted, his hands both clasped on the head of his cane. When had his brother started actually acquiring wisdom?

He watched Bumi's cadre of explorers vanish into the portal, while contemplating his words. It had taken nearly losing Jinora and being lost in the Spirit World for him to step out of his father's shadow and come into his own; perhaps he could grow from this as well?

“So!” Meelo said, from the rafters above. “What do you _mean_ , I have issues?”

Tenzin sighed.

 

 

***

 

 

“We could wheel you in, you know,” Korra said, as Asami took a breather against the wall. “I mean, believe me, I get how much you want out of that chair—”

“It's not that,” Asami said, waving away her argument, but not her support. Never that. “It's optics. People here need to see me walking tall and strong, under my own power.”

“They don't need to know about the fold-out bed we snuck into your office?” Korra whispered.

“No, they do not,” Asami replied, smirking. “Though if they did, I imagine they'd think your visits have more to do with it than my health.”

Korra blushed in that adorable way of hers. “Well, now that you've planted the idea in my head...”

Asami thwacked her arm, then pushed off the wall. “Thanks for coming in with me, today.”

“After our month-long vacation? I'm too used to having you around to give it up that easy.”

Asami smiled, and started walking—firmly, but carefully. It might be a while before she tried heels again. “I was bedridden for most of it.”

“You say that like spending a month in bed with me is a bad thing.”

Asami snorted, then glared at her.

“What, you want them all to think you're healthy. What's healthier than a ton of sex with your girlfriend?”

“If you want to stay healthy, you'll end this conversation,” Asami said through the corner of her mouth, as her chief financial officer stepped into the hall, followed by two nattering aides. All three of them stopped, stepping to the side, bowing their heads as Asami and Korra passed.

Asami let out a breath after, though doubtless they were still watching. Steady footing, almost there...

The outer door to her office was already open, and Tenni was standing in front of her desk. “Welcome back, Ms. Sato,” she said, bowing at the waist. “Did you enjoy your time away?”

“Yes, very restful,” Asami smiled, loud enough to be heard in the hall. “But I'm ready to get back to work.”

“I sorted the urgent business to the top for you,” Tenni said, circling around to sit behind her own desk. “I imagine you may have a few visitors to welcome you back. Would you like me to admit them?” Meaning, are you up enough to deal with people?

“Let me see what kind of workload you have for me, first,” Asami said, meaning, a few, I'll let you know.

Korra followed Asami into her office, fully repainted and redecorated now. She gave the fold-out couch a sideways look, then moved to the windows, peering down.

Asami stifled a sigh as she got off her feet, relaxing into her chair. There really _was_ a large pile of paperwork on her desk—she'd gotten a head start with some hand-delivered documents at home, but a month away was no minor hiccup. “What are you looking at?” she asked Korra, as she opened her first folder.

“Oh, just seeing how far down the ground is. And how much of a ledge your windows have.”

Asami set the folder down, turning toward her girlfriend. “Korra, you're not planning to—”

“Oh my gosh!” Korra said, rushing across the office to the framed newspaper on the wall. “We really did make the front page?”

Asami smiled, infected by Korra's energy. Maybe if she stuck around, Asami could stay awake for a full two hours? Not that she'd get much work done... difficult tradeoff, that. “Of every paper. That one wasn't the best angle of the kiss, but it had my favorite headline.”

“Sparks Fly,” Korra read, her arms crossed. She turned toward Asami, that scheming look in her eye.

“What?” Asami asked, eyebrow raised.

“I'm distracting you,” Korra stated.

Only entirely. “You can stay if you like.”

Korra shook her head. “I'm gonna go give Naga some exercise. I'll be back later with some lunch? Noodles?”

Asami nodded, setting papers flat in front of her.

Korra swooped in and planted a kiss on her cheek. “See you then, Sparks. Love you.”

Asami blinked at the moniker, but only managed a “Buh...” as Korra backed out of her office, hands clasped behind her, a mischievous look in her face.

Asami sighed, and relented. “Love you too.”

 

***

 

 

“I don't _want_ to talk to people tonight,” Lin complained as they walked, arm-in-arm. “We've only been back in Republic City for a couple of weeks.”

“And you've been sprawled out on the couch like a good-for-nothing layabout!” Kya scolded. “That's honestly what _I_ expected to be doing in this relationship.”

Lin rolled her eyes. “I could retire on my pension as it is, you know. Not to mention, my family isn't exactly poor. We could travel the world, like you always loved to.”

“We _were_ traveling. You kept complaining you wanted to go home. You were complaining about that _just now_ ”

“No, I was complaining I don't want to see _people_.”

Kya rolled her eyes at her. “Well, some people want to see you. I think it's important you listen.”

Lin frowned. Listen?

Before she could ask what that meant, Kya pulled them into the restaurant where they were escorted to a private room in the back. Asami was there—surprisingly, without Korra—as well as Tenzin and Zhu Li.

“Well, isn't this an odd group?” Lin observed, letting Kya guide her to a seat.

“Thank you for coming,” Zhu Li said.

“Oh, cut the crap,” Lin said, rolling her eyes. “What's going on? Need arbitration between your company and Asami's, or...”

“Nothing like that,” Tenzin said. “Please, Lin. Relax a little. Listen to what we have to say.”

“ _Then_ freak out _,_ ” Kya said.

Asami cast her a glare, then leaned forward. “Look, Lin. You know I should be in bed right now. It must be important if I'm here, right?”

Lin glared. “That's a dirty, dirty play, Sato. But fine. I'm listening.” She leaned back in her chair.

Asami looked at Tenzin and Zhu Li. They looked at each other, playing possum-chicken to see who had to speak. Zhu Li lost. “So, Lin... have you been keeping track of the presidential race?”

Lin groaned. “Yeah. Ever since Xiang dropped out, it's looking like Raiko's gonna cruise to re-election somehow. But so what? You brought me here to depress me?”

“Uh...” Zhu Li said, turning to Tenzin.

He picked up for her. “Well... what would you say if we told you there was another candidate, one that everybody in the city knows and respects, and a glowing reputation around the world, and a proven record of leadership?”

“And the financial backing of two of the city's largest corporations?” Asami added.

“I'd ask where they've been hiding,” Lin snorted.

“On a couch,” Kya answered, sipping her drink.

Lin stared at her girlfriend, then turned toward the others, her mouth gaping. Each of them looked at her, the same question in their eyes.

“You can't be serious,” she said.

“It's for the good of the city, Lin,” Tenzin said. “Do you honestly think Raiko or the other candidates would do a better job?”

“Nobody else has the respect of the benders _and_ the nonbenders like you do,” Asami added.

“Informal polling puts you at a twenty-point lead,” Zhu Li said.

“Before you answer,” Kya jumped in, as Lin was about to say something tart, “you might need to start watching your language, too.”

Lin took a deep breath. “Kya...”

“Besides, your slogan writes itself. 'We'll win with Lin!'”

Lin grit her teeth, and thought of the polite way to say what she thought. “Flameo...”

 

 

***

 

 

Asami stood as Chu and Wong left the stage, applause dying down after their receipt of the Hiroshi Sato Prize for Engineering. She hadn't meant to put them in charge of the subway system entirely, but the result was better than she could've hoped for. She was just glad Chu hadn't insisted on telling the crowd it had been her idea to begin with; these prizes weren't supposed to be about her, after all.

Except for the way in which they were.

She stepped back up to the podium, smiling for the cameras. She caught Korra's eye, out in the crowd, and got the encouragement she needed. “Finally,” she said, “we move on to the Lord Zuko Peace Prize. But before announcing the recipient, I would like to say a few words.”

Deep breath. “My father has a complicated legacy. As much as I may have loved him, I can't dispute the wrongs he committed, against this city and against myself. I have always striven to do the right thing, to be the best and kindest person I could be, to leave the world better than I found it. For all his faults, my father taught me that, even if he did not live it himself.

“But even the best of us can be blinded. Progress, as one of our greatest inventors once said, has a way of getting away from us. We can fool ourselves that something is right, if we need to believe that strongly enough. You may think I'm still referring to my father, but no. A few years ago, I invented a new weapon. Without admitting to myself why I'd created it, or allowing myself to contemplate the consequences, I unleashed this thing upon the world. I... cannot undo that. I stand here now, ready to award a prize named after somebody slain by that that very creation.”

Her eyes dipped into Korra's for support once more, as the crowd listened in hushed silence. Then she returned to her prepared statement:

“I have to live with that. I'm going to have to live with every life snuffed out by one of my rifles, and I'm not sure I can ever make it up to the world, or to myself. But I can try. All we can do, when we make mistakes, is pick ourselves up, and try harder. It's up to history now, to decide if my father's efforts to save the city made up for when he helped tear it apart. I, too, can only hope that the good I do in my life outweighs the ill. But while that desire was the inspiration behind the Sato Prizes, that is not what I want them to be about.”

Korra and Tonraq had thought Asami was too hard on herself, there, when Asami was practicing the speech, but Senna thought it touched the right tone. Besides, Asami knew what she had to answer for, and she wasn't going to hide from it.

“The Sato Prizes are meant to reward and recognize individuals of great distinction, whose efforts enlighten and inspire us, and whose sacrifices serve to make the world a better, safer, kinder place. And while I do not participate in the selection of the Sato Laureates, I could not be more pleased or more proud at the inaugural winner of the Lord Zuko Peace Prize. Nor, I think, would have Lord Zuko himself. Nuktik, of the Northern Water Tribe?”

Behind her, the young man jolted in his seat, then let go of his mother's hand and stood, eyeing the crowd nervously. Asami gave him smile of her own, and returned to the microphone.

“Twice in the past year, he's thrown himself into mortal danger, to safeguard the lives of people he barely knew, or did not know at all. Once, in the Fire Nation, where he survived the worst consequences of greed ran amok, and saved the life of Master Tenzin.

“But this only prepared him for his greater task. Six months later, his knowledge of the spirits led him to realize the danger brewing in Ba Sing Se. A danger nobody else recognized, much less was in a position to deal with. He ventured across the Spirit World, willingly, ready to face Vaatu himself to help save a city he'd never seen. He may not have met Vaatu, but he did end the spiritual assault and save the Avatar's life, when all the leaders of the world could not. Nuktik is an example to all of us, both in these heroic acts, and in the humble, determined kindness he lives his life. Please, Nuktik, step forward.”

Asami withdrew the final velvet box from the podium opening it toward the crowd so they could see the medal glinting within. “Nuktik, of the Northern Water Tribe,” Asami repeated, reaching out to shake his hand, “on behalf of the Sato Prize Foundation, please accept this award for serving the interests of peace. You have made our world a better, safer place.”

Nuktik shook her hand, forcing a smile. That should be that—formal and dignified, as it had been for all the other Laureates.

But Asami couldn't help herself.

She ducked in—slow enough not to surprise him—to a full-bodied hug, and murmured in his ears, “That's for saving the world. This is for saving mine. Thank you.”

“Y...you're welcome,” he quavered back, returning the hug.

Asami took a seat, as Nuktik approached the podium as if it were about to attack him. She smiled as he addressed the world he'd just done so much for. Maybe these prizes wouldn't amount to much, wouldn't balance the scales... but at least, it was a step. And this one, at least, gave her no reservations.

 

 

***

 

 

“S-seven?” Mako asked, his fingers pausing just a moment while braiding his wife's hair. “That many?”

“I mean, I could settle for five,” Tsu Ying said, slitting an eye open to look at him in the hotel mirror.

Mako blinked, and swallowed. She was playing with him, right? Even if she was, knowing her, she could be serious, too. “I mean... I'm just a little surprised. Don't you think that would get in the way of soldiering?”

“Only if you assume I'm the one who stays home to take care of them,” she chucked. “How about you? How many do you want?”

“Um...” Mako started, then a knock came at the door. “Who could that be?”

Tsu Ying snorted as he rushed to the door. “Coward!” she teased.

Mako reached the door, and saw a pair of envelopes had been slipped under it. He opened the door, peeking out into the hallway, but it was empty. Eerily so.

“Who is it?” Tsu Ying asked, as Mako examined the envelopes.

“Letters. One for each of us.” He handed hers over.

Both wore identical frowns as they broke the seals. Something fell out into Tsu Ying's lap; when she held it up to have a look, she chuckled. “Well, that's dramatic.”

Mako saw a White Lotus tile in his letter, too. He recognized Asami's handwriting, but had no idea why she couldn't have just called.

 

 

 

 

> _Mako,_
> 
>  
> 
> _As part of the ongoing reorganization of the White Lotus to incorporate peacekeeping forces, many of the old leaders have been encouraged to retire, and new positions are being created._
> 
> _While the new, restructured White Lotus is to be a force for good, to be as effective as it can will require the careful and quiet gathering of intelligence. Or, to put it directly, we need a spymaster, and I've been talking to Wing and Wu about what you did in Ba Sing Se. On top of that, though, I know we can trust you._
> 
> _So before the Confederation of Earth States offers you a job, please consider this one. You'll get to pick your team, and base yourself wherever you like. Think it over._
> 
>  
> 
> — _Asami Sato,_
> 
> _Interim Grand Lotus_

 

_P.S.: Keep the tile, but don't mention it to anyone. Ask me about it in private._

 

“Yours a job offer, too?” Tsu Ying asked.

Mako nodded. “Spymaster. What's yours?”

“Ooh, nice! I'm just a lead combat trainer—for the intelligence branch.”

“Well that's rather convenient,” Mako snickered. “I assume you'll want Shu on your staff?”

“Ugh, if you refuse to take custody of him, then fine.” She winked. “You'll have to take Wei then, if he wants it. Shu isn't happy if he doesn't have somebody to mother.”

Mako chuckled, setting down Asami's letter and returning to Tsu Ying's hair. “Where would you like to be based? Ba Sing Se? Republic City?”

“Our own private island?” Tsu Ying asked.

“That might be a little _too_ clandestine.”

“Mmm.” Tsu Ying leaned forward, putting her letter and Pai Sho tile on the counter beside Mako's, and handing him one of her ties. He was only halfway down her braid, but she knew that, so he tied it off. “Honestly, the stability will be nice. Operating with actual authority, not having to travel the world...”

“That's true...” Mako mused, as Tsu Ying stood, trailed her hand along his shoulder, across his neck, walking past him...

“Somewhere we could settle down, maybe? With a place of our own? And a few extra bedrooms?”

Mako chuckled, setting his own letter down, and allowing himself to be drawn to bed.

 

 

***

 

 

Opal's laugh punctuated Bolin's dip, and all their wedding guests chuckled and clapped at their display. Korra shook her head, grinning ear to ear for her friends as Bolin drew Opal back up, planting a kiss on her cheek. She rolled her eyes, then kissed her husband back, on the lips, and soon enough Bolin lost the beat and the two fell over.

The dancing and festivities had gone on for hours, and though all their friends and families were there, so was everyone else. When Bolin and Opal had decided to have their wedding during the first Winter Solstice Festival, they'd decided to make it casual and open the afterparty to everyone—and it seemed like the whole city had showed up. Spirits cavorted through the crowds, benders and nonbenders met and danced, and a general sense of mirth filled Avatar Korra Park.

It was exactly what the world needed, in more ways than one.

It was also exhausting.

“Avatar Korra!” said a little girl, maybe ten or eleven, very Fire Nation in her look, but with her hair up in wolf tails and wearing blues and a pelt much like Korra's own. Before Korra knew what to do, the girl had wrapped her arms around Korra's waist.

“Oh! Hi!” Korra said, laughing nervously. She loved kids normally, but so many...

“I'm sorry!” the girl's mother said, rushing after her. “I'm so sorry, Avatar! Miku absolutely idolizes you.”

“Mom said it's okay if I have a girlfriend,” Miku whispered, as she's pulled away. “Thank you!”

Korra chuckled as Miku's mother pulled her away. “Well, I hope you're enjoying the festival, and I'm really happy to hear that,” she said, ruffling the girl's hair. “You know, I don't have time to talk right now, but if you look around for an airbender girl about your age, maybe she'll be your friend?”

“I'll look!” the girl said, nodding energetically before darting away. Her mother sighed, and hurried after her.

Korra took the opportunity to make her way to the happy newlyweds. Opal had Bolin's engagement stone on a headlace, like her mother wore. Korra hadn't ever considered whether it was a wedding custom or just part of Su's style, but it fit Opal well.

The fire ferret on Opal's head, though, was a bit less fashionable.

“Pabu!” Bolin scolded, pulling him down and cradling him. “Just because we're family now does not make her your perch.”

“Hey,” Korra said, stepping close to be overheard over the crowd.

“Korra!” both exclaimed and hugged her in spite of having talked with her just a few hours ago. “Where's your lady?” Opal asked.

“Asami's off working the crowd or something,” Korra shrugged. Asami didn't like big masses of people much more than she did, but she insisted that networking was an important part of her job. “I just wanted... well first of all congratulations! You two deserve all the happiness in the world, Asami and I both just wish you all the best. You dorks are just really infectiously in love!”

“You're one to talk,” Bolin said, winking at her. “Look at you, scanning the crowd for Asami...”

“Hmm?” Korra asked, focusing on Bolin and realizing she'd be caught. She blushed. “Okay guilty. But... we never did thank you, for everything you did to get us back together.”

“Well,” Opal said, her arm around her husband's waist, “we're just happy it worked out. You two dorks are pretty inspiring yourselves.”

“Yeah, I mean... maybe the whole city _is_ at our wedding,” Bolin said, “but you're the couple people write songs about.”

Korra rolled her eyes. “So, plans for the honeymoon? Still thinking Fire Nation?” A severe depression had set in in the last few months, and Izumi and Iroh were having a hard time of pulling the country out of it. Tourism wasn't exactly what it had been.

Opal nodded. “Yeah. We'll spend some time on Ember Island, of course, but we talked about it, and we want to do some charity work in the hardest hit areas. Maybe help keep things afloat there before it starts to get... well, like the Earth Kingdom was.”

Korra nodded. She'd offered her help, but the Fire Lord had politely declined, given that her attacks on factories and warehouses there had been what kicked off the economic problems. “You let me know if you need anything. You can do a lot of good, and maybe help rebuild some bridges for me?”

“We will,” Bolin said confidently, while Opal was just staring at him. “Both figuratively and literally, if we have to.”

Korra saw Asami heading over, just as Bolin was getting wise to his wife's stare, and began to return it. “Well, find time to have some fun for yourselves, too.”

“We will,” he said offhandedly, and he and his wife started giggling.

Korra shook her head, moving toward her girlfriend. Those two would do well.

Asami, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to either laugh or scowl. “What?” Korra asked.

“ _Apparently_ , Varrick has been pestering Nuktik about intellectual property rights.”

Korra blinked, mouth opening. “What?”

“He wants to make more Nuktuk movers, but thinks Nuktik's notoriety could confuse consumers.”

“That's... pretty low.”

“I think he's drunk,” Asami sighed. “In the spirit of the holiday, I attempted to resolve the issue by giving Iknik a gift. Some flavored ice from a vendor nearby.”

“Flavored ice? How would that—”

“Down the back of his shirt.”

Korra laughed, taking Asami's hand, and pulling her in close. “You're beautiful.”

Asami chuckled, kissing her. “And you're looking a little overstimulated. Want to take a walk?”

Korra nodded, letting Asami guide her through the crowd. The afternoon was turning into evening, and the sun set early this time of year, but light displays only enhanced the ethereal, yellow glow of the spirit portal.

They found a patch of fence, near the lake, and both leaned against it. Asami had been standing for hours, and didn't show any sign of fatigue—either that, or she'd gotten better at hiding it. She wasn't sure if Asami's spirit was 'growing back' or exactly what Raava had done, but to think of how close she'd come to losing this woman... surely, there'd be consequences, right?

As if reading her thoughts, Asami squeezed her hand, then leaned in to kiss her by the ear and rest their heads together.

Korra let out a sigh. “I've been thinking...”

“Uh oh...” Asami teased.

Korra rolled her eyes. “It's been six months, since we got back together. Just about as long as I was gone.”

Asami nodded, putting her arm around Korra's waist.

“I... know you trust me,” Korra said, “but I'm not sure how you can.”

“Korra—”

“How do you know I won't run away the next time things get really bad?”

Asami turned Korra to look at her, clasping both of her hands. “I know,” she said, simply. “Besides, you couldn't leave me now if you wanted to.” She pulled Korra's hands up, and rested them against her chest. “You're in here with me.”

Something about that made Korra's throat hitch, and she rested her head against Asami's shoulder.

Asami made a happy sigh, deep in her chest, and put her arms around Korra, leaving Korra's hands atop her heart. They stood there, quietly, for some minutes, feeling the breeze against their skin, and their hearts beating together. The four years they'd known each other already felt like a lifetime, but they still had so much, so so much life left to live.

“Well,” Asami said after a time, as Korra turned her attention to look out over the lake. “Want to get back to the party?”

Korra looked back. She didn't want to ditch out on Bolin and Opal's wedding, but there were so _many_ people there. “I dunno. I'm kinda all partied out.”

Asami chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”

They watched the water rippling in the lake, the yellow glow of Harmony Tower shimmering off it. Little turtle ducks flocked around the shore, getting fat off festival food. Just over the bridge and around a curve in the lake, some enterprising company had fashioned cute little boats shaped like the turtle ducks, gliding around smoothly.

Asami nudged her—she'd noticed them too. “You wanna?” Korra asked.

He girlfriend grinned. “Let's do it.” She stepped around her, tracing her fingertips along Korra's arms. Instead of letting Asami take her hand, Korra hopped a step ahead of her. Asami grinned, and they started to race toward the docks, laughter singing in their hearts. The moment felt like it could go on forever.

They were together. And, at last, they were unafraid.

 

 

**Epilogue**

 

“Hurry!” Master Tingwen hissed, rushing Avatar Liu into the Satomobile.

“Why won't you tell me what's going on?” Liu asked, allowing himself to be led. “Why are we rushing out of the safehouse? Isn't it supposed to be, you know... safe?”

Tingwen gave him a glare as the driver pulled out, driving toward the walltop highway. She sighed, turning to look out the window behind them. “Somebody compromised our security,” she said. “We don't know who, much less how or why. This is a precaution.”

“But... how did they even know I was there?” Liu asked. He'd only figured out three of his elements so far, and hadn't really mastered any of them but earth, having been discovered so late. Some in the world were wondering openly if the Avatar cycle had continued at all, in spite of White Lotus claims to the contrary.

“I do not know,” Tingwen said, with a sigh. “Driver, where...” her eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

“I'm the driver,” he replied. Liu was staring at him—why was he staring at him?

“I know all the drivers.”

“Of course you do...” he muttered. “Look, don't freak out, okay, especially since I _am_ the one driving? I promise I don't mean any harm.” Liu couldn't see his face from this angle, not really. Why was he so familiar?

“I'm not sure why we should trust you,” Tingwen said, “seeing as you're trying to kidnap the Avatar.”

“I'm not trying to _kidnap_ anyone!”

“Then pull the car over.”

“I want to hear what he has to say,” Liu said.

“And that's all I want,” the driver said, a desperate laugh sneaking into his voice.

“How many of you are there?” Tingwen asked.

“Just me. Disabling the defenses, knocking out the guards, cutting the alarm... it's all me.”

“And yet you want us to trust—”

Liu put his hand over his mentor's mouth. “Why do you want to talk to me so badly?”

The driver swallowed. “Because you have to believe me. Nobody else believes me...”

“Believes what?”

“I'm destined to help you!”

“Help me? What do you mean? How?”

The man took a breath, and turned, for one heart-stopping moment, to look Liu in the eye. And somehow, in spite of the shaded windows in the car, the man's eyes almost seemed to glow. The sound of the road and the engine, of his own heart, everything fell away at the driver's words: “In my past life, I was an engineer.”

 

 

* * *

 

**End notes (Because I exceeded the character limit and had to include this in the body text. Brevity is not my strong suit, why start now?)**

 

5/28/2016-7/22/2017

Wow. Almost 240,000 words later, and what do I have to say?

Mostly... I love you guys! The enthusiasm with which people seem to hold this story has been beyond flattering, and to each and every one of you who's laughed or cried or smiled or squee'd at my words... that's why I write in the first place. Connectivity.

This story has been amazing to work on, so many dynamic characters and such a wide variety of plots. Playing around in the world of Legend of Korra has been a blessing, but not nearly so much as all the wonderful people I've met while doing it. People I likely never would have met otherwise, but have become such a critical community for me.

@wordcatchers, @lasienaga, @cd-fish, @riledup2692, thank you all for alpha and beta work. It was way more than just cleanup, and you helped me pin down issues I felt but couldn't put my finger on, issues I hadn't thought of at all, you kept me honest where I needed it and provided encouragement when it was flagging. And you've been good friends. <3

[Drakyx](http://drakyx.tumblr.com/), for allowing me to use her amazing Spirit Portal artwork for my cover image, a different angle on the Korra comic announcement; my good friend [zelegendary ](http://zelegendarydork.tumblr.com/)dork, for some lovely Korrasami kisses in the middle; [Archymedius](http://archymedius.tumblr.com/), for the finale image, a prelude to the famous turtle duck date. When I began writing, the comic announcement and the turtleduck charity picture were the only two post finale canon images we had. How fitting, then, that I bookend the story with each of them—but new takes? Loving works from people, like me, to whom the show has meant so much.

From portal to turtle duck. Connectivity.

I started writing this, alone, just a rando person in what felt like a slowly-dying fandom. My original writing had stagnated—I'd lost the sense of play that's crucial—I'd ran out of Korrasami long fic and still needed a fix, and the comic was delayed until... well now, as it happens! This story filled a need for me to create, a need for me to have more of my favorite characters, and, unexpectedly but wonderfully, my need for community. From those of you who wander in to give me kudos, to my steady commenters who chimed in on every chapter, to strangers who plug my fic to tumblr friends who came together to buy the most precious gift I've received in my life (not a metaphor, an actual physical present that I'm tearing up just talking about), all of you have meant so, so much to me. I wish I could hug you all—and with that present, the cute little Korra doll, it feels like I can. :)

Connectivity. I don't feel like a lonely lady behind a keyboard anymore. I feel like... out there, even for just this brief moment in the fandom, there's not one but dozens of people who like me, care about me, are interested in my exploits and my well-being. I know that there's kindred spirits all over the world. I know that trans representation, representing myself, isn't just a niche detail, that it can be written organically and speak to far, far more people than I'd dared to hope.

I've learned a lot about writing, the only way you really can—by doing it. I've even been recounting my thoughts about my writing process,[ here, if you're interested enough to look at the chaos behind the curtain](http://threehoursfromtroy.tumblr.com/post/162483576173/march-of-process-pt-1).

March of Progress doesn't exist in a vacuum. There's all my other stories connected to it—and more to come, too!—but that's not what I mean. As I write this, there are 3155 works on Ao3 alone tagged Korra/Asami Sato. Nearly 7000 for Legend of Korra as a whole, and myself, a late-comer. Turf Wars just went on sale at SDCC, and has its street release next Wednesday (meaning March of Progress remains complete and canon compliant for less than a week, hah). I didn't invent fanfiction for our fandom, and I didn't re-invent it; the vibrant community of writers commenting on and recommending and enjoying each others' work plays a huge part in keeping the fandom alive and excited during long, long, _excruciating_ deserts of content. There are so many talented writers who have worked in the fandom, who still do, and, most excitingly, who have yet to come into it.

I sincerely hope that March of Progress is fondly remembered in the fandom. Will the continuation of canon, after all these years, squash the demand for Book 5 fics like this? Perhaps. But the journey, I think, was well worth taking.

Finally, our girls. Korra and Asami Sato. It may have been hard to believe for a long stretch of the middle there, but I, at heart, am a huge romantic, and these two women mean so, so much to me. The show, the fandom, my own honest-to-god real life identity, so much that means so much to me has been massively impacted by the Avatar and the Engineer. The CEO and the Savior. Of course, I know, they're characters, but my brain doesn't. Deep down, emotionally, their lives have been so rich, so enriching, that they feel real, almost tangible, and if I spend to long without them, I begin to miss them as I would a friend who moved away.

Perhaps they began as cartoon characters. But to me, to us, to all of us connected by the thundering of our hearts across the world and across the years when we first saw two women clasp hands and step into a bright new world together, they are so much more. They are our heroes, and they are ourselves, reflected in a way we seldom get to see. Strong, but imperfect. Capable and beautiful and oh, so fragile. So human. They are aspirational figures—life goals and wife goals, as they say. A couple where respect, friendship, and understanding blossomed into something beautiful—something they both supremely deserve, and something to give us hope that we can find the same ourselves. I know I can never, never forget them, and I'm enriched by that, I truly am.

Thank you, Mike and Bryan and the whole production crew, for your precious creations. Thank you to the LoK community for being such a vibrant, excited place, full of so many lovely, loving people. Thank you reviewers, thank you readers, for all the time you've given me, for all the love. Stick around on my Ao3—there are more goodies to come, so maybe [follow either me as a writer](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/pseuds/Writerleft) or [Comes Marching Home](http://archiveofourown.org/series/593860) as a series—but besides that... just, thank you again. Be well. Be good.

And stay connected.

 

  
  
Thank you for reading. :')

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this journey with me and my favorite characters. <3
> 
>  
> 
> [If the process behind writing at all interests you, I've got a retrospective of how I wrote this whole dang thing here. ](http://threehoursfromtroy.tumblr.com/post/162483576173/march-of-process-pt-1)
> 
>  
> 
> Kudos and comments especially are greatly appreciated--seriously it always makes my day. Even if you're mad. Heck, especially if you're mad.
> 
>  
> 
> [Visit me on my tumblr! Say hi! ](https://threehoursfromtroy.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> I'm always happy to chat about Korra, or writing in general. :) Plus, if you want a sneak peek at the next chapter, go there to find out how!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Found and Finding](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7732978) by [Writerleft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/pseuds/Writerleft)




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